Top 116 Quotes & Sayings by Dan Rather
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American journalist Dan Rather.
Last updated on December 23, 2024.
Are the Democrats going to dance the mandate Macarena?
A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everybody wishes you well.
The press is a watchdog. Not an attack dog. Not a lapdog. A watchdog. Now, a watchdog can't be right all the time. He doesn't bark only when he sees or smells something that's dangerous. A good watchdog barks at things that are suspicious.
This much we know: Journalism is not a precise science. It's, on its best day, is a crude art. We make mistakes; I make mistakes. With more than 50 years as a journalist, I have at least had the opportunity to blow more stories, make more mistakes than maybe anybody in television.
Always marry a woman from Texas. No matter how tough things get, she's seen tougher.
Once the herd starts moving in one direction, it's very hard to turn it, even slightly.
Performing doesn't turn me on. It's an egomaniac business, filled with prima donnas - including this one.
And now the sequence of events in no particular order.
I had just turned 10-years-old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and plunged America into World War II.
Journalists should denounce government by public opinion polls.
If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.
I respect and empathize with reporters and editors who must compete in today's environment. And I know full well that when I've been covering campaigns, which I still do, I've made my mistakes and have been far from perfect.
Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic.
I was really lucky to work at CBS news. I was blessed to be able to live my dream in many ways at CBS news.
Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.
They may have turned this up, whether you had the Paula Jones case or not. But again maybe not, but again that's like if a frog had side pockets he'd probably wear a handgun.
I don't back down. I don't cave when the pressure gets too great from these partisan political ideological forces.
From the streets of Cairo and the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall Street, from the busy political calendar to the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan, social media was not only sharing the news but driving it.
Covering the civil-rights movement was a mind- and eye-opener for me. Houston was a segregated society, as was Texas as a whole - some of it by law, a lot of it by fear and tradition. But there was no violence where I lived, and if there was hate, it was either concealed from me or I just didn't recognize it.
Don't taunt the alligator until after you've crossed the creek.
Fear rules almost every newsroom in the country.
Well, first of all, I don't want to debate the word conservative, but by my definition, a conservative is someone who wants to conserve the Constitution of the United States and the American tradition and law that no one is above the law.
The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth'.
There is no doubt that the way journalism worked when I was growing up and getting started has changed forever.
What separated Ed Murrow from the rest of the pack was courage.
Despite what many Americans think, most Soviets do not yearn for capitalism or Western-style democracy.
Never eat spinach just before going on the air.
As long as I have my health, I want to be reporting somewhere.
An intellectual snob is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger.
One of the most important roles of our journalists is to be watchdogs.
I'm proud to say I've never been anybody's lapdog.
A free and truly independent press - fiercely independent when necessary - is the red beating heart of freedom and democracy.
As someone who's been covering presidential campaigns since the 1950s, I have no delusions about political reporting. Candidates bargaining access to get the kind of news coverage they want is nothing new.
And for whatever reason I've loved the news since I can remember. I loved it when I was in elementary school.
But we cannot rely on memorials and museums alone. We can tell ourselves we will never forget and we likely won't. But we need to make sure that we teach history to those who never had the opportunity to remember in the first place.
Ratings don't last. Good journalism does.
For years Don Imus was just - boy, he was merciless in his criticism of me. Maybe it was justified, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.
If I didn't have a front-row seat on history, it was at least a seat on the aisle.
A college degree is the key to realizing the American dream, well worth the financial sacrifice because it is supposed to open the door to a world of opportunity.
Now, I know you expected me to say that, well, I just kick back in the rocking chair, fished a little bit, listened to Willie Nelson tapes and watched old baseball games on the Classic Sports network. And, tell you the truth, I have done that for maybe about five total minutes.
Those market researchers... are playing games with you and me and with this entire country. Their so-called samples of opinion are no more accurate or reliable than my grandmother's big toe was when it came to predicting the weather.
I think it's important for the public to know, great reporting starts with a publisher who has guts and an editor who has guts.
What I say or do here won't matter much, nor should it.
I still love following and thinking about politics. I enjoy recommending important journalism I read or see from other sources.
Start-ups like UniversityNow, a network of low-cost, online colleges, allows students to work at their own pace and pay a few hundred dollars a month for a degree.
Only votes talk, everything else walks.
This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex.
I don't pretend to be a digital savant or even a digital apprentice.
I'd much rather wear out than rust out.
I've always tried to be fair, even-handed, not an advocate for any group.
I'm a believer in what your record is. I am what my record is - some of it good, some of it bad, some of it hard to tell.
The great lesson my mother and father gave me was almost invisible. It was a strong sense of being rooted.
Music is important. It says things you heart can't say any other way, and in a language everyone speaks. Music crosses borders, turns smiles into frowns, and vice versa. These observations are shared with a hope: that, when schools cut back on music classes, they really think about what they're doing - and don't take music for granted.
Be careful. Journalism is more addictive than crack cocaine. Your life can get out of balance.
(Obama's) a nice person, he's very articulate this is what's been used against him, but he couldn't sell watermelons if it, you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic.
Comedians, such as yourself, Jon Stewart and others, are a valuable supplement, and here's why: Good journalism at its best frequently speaks truth to power. What's happened with journalists - again, I don't except myself from this criticism - in some ways we've lost our guts. We need a spine transplant. What's happened is comedians, in their own way, speak truth to power and fill that vacuum that we in journalism have too often left, particularly post 9/11.
The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you.
If you're in Journalism and you're looking for friends, you should get a dog.
I've never believed in measuring one's worth by the size of his or her bank account. I prefer to look at distance traveled.
I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things.
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