I don’t want to disappoint too many people, but the number of interesting political, historical conversations we had, you could stick in your ear, it wasn’t that many. We talked about friends, family and of course girls.
BEN BRADLEEIt is my experience that most claims of national security are part of a campaign to avoid telling the truth.
More Ben Bradlee Quotes
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There is nothing like daily journalism! Best damn job in the world!
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If an investigative reporter finds out that someone has been robbing the store, that may be ‘gotcha’ journalism, but it’s also good journalism.
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Our best today; better tomorrow.
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As long as a journalist tells the truth, in conscience and fairness, it is not his job to worry about consequences. The truth is never as dangerous as a lie in the long run. I truly believe the truth sets men free.
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Sure, some journalists use anonymous sources just because they’re lazy, and I think editors ought to insist on more precise identification even if they remain anonymous.
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Everybody who talks to a newspaper has a motive. That’s just a given. And good reporters always, repeat always, probe to find out what that motive is.
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Hire people smarter than you are and encourage them to bloom.
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There will always be leaks; in Washington, everywhere.
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As a child, one looks for compliments. As an adult, one looks for evidence of effectiveness.
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More likely to mean the security or the personal happiness of the guy who is telling you something.
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The history of American politics is littered with bodies of people who took so pure a position that they had no clout at all.
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In the perfect world every source could be identified, but like the man said, “It’s not a perfect world.”
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It changes your life, the pursuit of truth.
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Maybe some of today’s papers have too many ‘feel-good’ features, but there is a lot of good news out there.
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The first rough draft of history.
BEN BRADLEE