One of the greatest things I fear is letting down my people. I wouldn't live with that type of conscience, of having let down my people after they've been brutalized for so long.
Winnie Madikizela-MandelaRead
In the normal course of things, journalists want their story, and as soon as they are through with it, they pack their cameras and go. That was never the impression that David Astor gave when you were interviewed by him. It was far deeper than that.
Interpretation
David Astor approached journalism with a deeper understanding and connection to his subjects.
This quote speaks to the essence of true journalism, emphasizing that unlike many reporters who simply aim to collect a story and move on, David Astor engaged with his subjects on a more profound level. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela highlights Astor's approach as one that goes beyond mere duty, indicating a genuine curiosity and connection that fosters a deeper narrative and understanding of the human experience.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of empathy in journalism, one might reference this quote.
One of the greatest things I fear is letting down my people. I wouldn't live with that type of conscience, of having let down my people after they've been brutalized for so long.
I wanted to be a doctor at some point, and I was always bringing home strays from school: people who were too poor to pay fees or have food. My parents never rebuked me or told me that they were hard-pressed, too.
We shall liberate our country.
I learned to deal with the police... to be tough... to survive.
I am not sorry. I will never be sorry. I would do everything I did again if I had to. Everything.
The solution of this country's problems lies in black hands.
Purchasing a story in order to bury it is a practice that many in the tabloid industry call 'catch and kill.'
If an investigative reporter finds out that someone has been robbing the store, that may be 'gotcha' journalism, but it's also good journalism.
The Center for Public Integrity is the real thing. A group of dedicated people who remember that great journalism is about grit and guts and stamina and razor-sharp instincts. They are, thank heaven, here to stay.
When I was trained as a journalist, as a race-relations reporter in Nashville covering the end of the civil-rights movement, we were strictly forbidden to use the first-person pronoun. There was kind of an electric charge around it. To come out from hiding and use the word 'I' carried a lot of fright for me.
The most important ethical issues and the most difficult ones are the human ones because a reporter has enormous power to hurt people.
The biggest problem I have in journalism is being quoted or misquoted and then being asked to defend something I haven't said.
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