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Top 30 Ben Bradlee Quotes (2025 Update)

Ben Bradlee Quote: “News is the first draft of history.”

1. “News is the first draft of history.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “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.”

2. “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.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “You never monkey with the truth.”

3. “You never monkey with the truth.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “Hire people smarter than you are and encourage them to bloom.”

4. “Hire people smarter than you are and encourage them to bloom.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “In the perfect world every source could be identified, but like the man said, “It’s not a perfect world.””

5. “In the perfect world every source could be identified, but like the man said, “It’s not a perfect world.””

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “It is my experience that most claims of national security are part of a campaign to avoid telling the truth.”

6. “It is my experience that most claims of national security are part of a campaign to avoid telling the truth.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “Nothing’s riding on this, except the First Amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys f-k up again, I’m gonna get mad.”

7. “Nothing’s riding on this, except the First Amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys f-k up again, I’m gonna get mad.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “To hell with news! I’m no longer interested in news. I’m interested in causes. We don’t print the truth. We don’t pretend to print the truth. We print what people tell us. It’s up to the public to decide what’s true.”

8. “To hell with news! I’m no longer interested in news. I’m interested in causes. We don’t print the truth. We don’t pretend to print the truth. We print what people tell us. It’s up to the public to decide what’s true.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “It changes your life, the pursuit of truth, if you know that you have tried to find the truth and gone past the first apparent truth towards the real truth. It’s very, it’s very exciting.”

9. “It changes your life, the pursuit of truth, if you know that you have tried to find the truth and gone past the first apparent truth towards the real truth. It’s very, it’s very exciting.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “Sometimes I am convinced there is nothing wrong with this country that couldn’t be cured by the magical implantation of ethical standards on us all – leaders and followers. Until that becomes doable, the Center for Public Integrity is just about the best thing we have going for us.”

10. “Sometimes I am convinced there is nothing wrong with this country that couldn’t be cured by the magical implantation of ethical standards on us all – leaders and followers. Until that becomes doable, the Center for Public Integrity is just about the best thing we have going for us.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “I do worry about how newspapers respond to falling circulation figures. I’m not sure that the answer is for newspapers to try to cater to whatever seems to be the fad of the day.”

11. “I do worry about how newspapers respond to falling circulation figures. I’m not sure that the answer is for newspapers to try to cater to whatever seems to be the fad of the day.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “The history of American politics is littered with bodies of people who took so pure a position that they had no clout at all.”

12. “The history of American politics is littered with bodies of people who took so pure a position that they had no clout at all.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “There is nothing like daily journalism! Best damn job in the world!”

13. “There is nothing like daily journalism! Best damn job in the world!”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “It’s very hard to stand up to the government which is saying that publication will threaten national security. People don’t seem to realize that reporters and editors know something about national security and care deeply about it.”

14. “It’s very hard to stand up to the government which is saying that publication will threaten national security. People don’t seem to realize that reporters and editors know something about national security and care deeply about it.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “If an investigative reporter finds out that someone has been robbing the store, that may be ‘gotcha’ journalism, but it’s also good journalism.”

15. “If an investigative reporter finds out that someone has been robbing the store, that may be ‘gotcha’ journalism, but it’s also good journalism.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “Maybe some of today’s papers have too many ‘feel-good’ features, but there is a lot of good news out there.”

16. “Maybe some of today’s papers have too many ‘feel-good’ features, but there is a lot of good news out there.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “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.”

17. “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.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “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.”

18. “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.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “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.”

19. “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 Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “The champagne was flowing like the Potomac in flood.”

20. “The champagne was flowing like the Potomac in flood.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “Cherchez la femme” is good advice for investigative reporters. “Follow the money” is even better advice.”

21. “Cherchez la femme” is good advice for investigative reporters. “Follow the money” is even better advice.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “The Nixon administration really put a lot of pressure on CBS not to run the second broadcast.”

22. “The Nixon administration really put a lot of pressure on CBS not to run the second broadcast.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “But journalists thrive on not knowing exactly what the future holds. That’s part of the excitement. Something interesting, something important, will happen somewhere, as sure as God made sour apples, and a good aggressive newspaper will become part of that something.”

23. “But journalists thrive on not knowing exactly what the future holds. That’s part of the excitement. Something interesting, something important, will happen somewhere, as sure as God made sour apples, and a good aggressive newspaper will become part of that something.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “As a child, one looks for compliments. As an adult, one looks for evidence of effectiveness.”

24. “As a child, one looks for compliments. As an adult, one looks for evidence of effectiveness.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “There will always be leaks; in Washington, everywhere.”

25. “There will always be leaks; in Washington, everywhere.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “I think the conscientious pursuit of happiness by itself can validate decisions to change, to try again, especially when failure to change will lead to lives of duplicity, dishonesty, and deceit.”

26. “I think the conscientious pursuit of happiness by itself can validate decisions to change, to try again, especially when failure to change will lead to lives of duplicity, dishonesty, and deceit.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “The biggest difference between Kennedy and Nixon, as far as the press is concerned, is simply this: Jack Kennedy really liked newspaper people and he really enjoyed sparring with journalists.”

27. “The biggest difference between Kennedy and Nixon, as far as the press is concerned, is simply this: Jack Kennedy really liked newspaper people and he really enjoyed sparring with journalists.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “I never believed that Nixon could fully resurrect himself. And the proof of that was in the obits.”

28. “I never believed that Nixon could fully resurrect himself. And the proof of that was in the obits.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “I think he had a strange, passionate devotion to the truth and a horror at what he saw going on.”

29. “I think he had a strange, passionate devotion to the truth and a horror at what he saw going on.”

— Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee Quote: “Generals who can write always make me nervous.”

30. “Generals who can write always make me nervous.”

— Ben Bradlee

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