We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be creditable; to be credible we must be truthful.
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.
We cannot make good news out of bad practice.
American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst. To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.
If radio news is to be regarded as a commodity, only acceptable when saleable, then I don’t care what you call it – I say it isn’t news.
I simply cannot accept that there are, on every story, two equal and logical sides to an argument.
When the politicians complain that TV turns the proceedings into a circus, it should be made clear that the circus was already there, and that TV has merely demonstrated that not all the performers are well trained.
The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.
We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason.
I have no feud, either with my employers, any sponsors, or with the professional critics of radio and television. But I am seized with an abiding fear regarding what these two instruments are doing to our society, our culture and our heritage.
One of the basic troubles with radio and television news is that both instruments have grown up as an incompatible combination of show business, advertising and news. Each of the three is a rather bizarre and demanding profession. And when you get all three under one roof, the dust never settles.
We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.
Our history will be what we make of it. If we go on as we are, then history will take its revenge and retribution will not limp in catching up with us. So, just once in a while let us exhault the importance of ideas and information.
If none of us ever read a book that was “dangerous,” had a friend who was “different,” or joined an organization that advocated “change,” we would all be the kind of people Joe McCarthy wants.
Learn your language well and command it well, and you will have the first component to life.
Just once in a while, let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.
The real crucial link in the international exchange is the last three feet, which is bridged by personal contact, one person talking to another.
No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices.