Quote

One of the most important roles of our journalists is to be watchdogs.

Dan Rather

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Dan Rather
Age: 83
Born: 1941
Born: October 31
Journalist
News Presenter
Opinion Journalist
Television Producer
Wharton
Texas
Daniel Irvin Dan Rather
Jr.
Daniel Irvin Dan Rather Jr.
Watchdogs
Journalists
Journalist
Roles
Important

More quotes by Dan Rather

Image
Always marry a woman from Texas. No matter how tough things get, she's seen tougher.
Dan Rather
Image
I have tried to remain a working, cutting-edge journalist and I don't do it the way everybody else does it. And I think that's the difference.
Dan Rather
Image
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'.
Dan Rather
Image
If frogs had side pockets, they'd carry hand guns.
Dan Rather
Image
They say California's the big burrito Texas is a big taco right now. We want to follow that through. Florida is a big tamale.
Dan Rather
Image
It's the old shell game.
Dan Rather
Image
Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.
Dan Rather
Image
I know that this story is true.
Dan Rather
Image
These guys [the Catholic church] make Enron look like altar boys.
Dan Rather
Image
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.
Dan Rather
Image
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.
Dan Rather
Image
You'd better do what you feel good about doing. If we [try] to figure out what it is the audience wants and then try to deliver it to them, we're lost souls on the ghost ship forever.
Dan Rather
Image
Journalists should denounce government by public opinion polls.
Dan Rather
Image
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.
Dan Rather
Image
And now the sequence of events in no particular order.
Dan Rather
Image
When the going gets weird, anchormen punt.
Dan Rather
Image
I'm proud to say I've never been anybody's lapdog.
Dan Rather
Image
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.
Dan Rather
Image
I read the book [My Life by Bill Clinton] completely. And I think it compares very favorably with Ulysses S. Grant's gold standard of presidential autobiographies.
Dan Rather
Image
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.
Dan Rather