Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. is an American journalist and former national evening news anchor. Rather began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurricane Carla in September 1961. Rather spontaneously created the first radar weather report by overlaying a transparent map over a radar image of Hurricane Carla. In his first national broadcast, he helped initiate the successful evacuation of 350,000 people. These Dan Rather quotes will motivate you.
Best Dan Rather Quotes
- “A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everybody wishes you well.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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
- “A free and truly independent press – fiercely independent when necessary – is the red beating heart of freedom and democracy.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
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“I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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
- “If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.” ~ Dan Rather
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“The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
- “One of the most important roles of our journalists is to be watchdogs.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Be careful. Journalism is more addictive than crack cocaine. Your life can get out of balance.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
- “(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.” ~ Dan Rather
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“This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex.” ~ Dan Rather
- “I had someone at the Houston police station shoot me with heroin so I could do a story about it. The experience was a special kind of hell. I came out understanding full well how one could be addicted to ‘smack,’ and quickly.” ~ Dan Rather
- “It’s the ratings, stupid, don’t you know? They’ve got us putting more fuzz and wuzz on the air, cop-show stuff.” ~ Dan Rather
- “I got addicted. News, particularly daily news, is more addictive than crack cocaine, more addictive than heroin, more addictive than cigarettes.” ~ Dan Rather
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“I know that this story is true.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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
- “Texas: 32 electoral votes, another of the so-called big enchiladas or if not an enchilada at least a huge taco.” ~ Dan Rather
- “I’m all news, all the time. Full power, tall tower. I want to break in when news breaks out. That’s my agenda. Now, respectfully, when you start talking about a liberal agenda and all the, quote, ‘liberal bias’ in the media, I quite frankly, and I say this respectfully but candidly to you, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Editing can alter the original meaning and context, and computers can alter the image itself. The camera can also be manipulated. At the very least, it must be turned in one direction – only one direction at a time … Who chooses what direction to point the camera, and why?” ~ Dan Rather
- “We are the “can do” country. We adjust to situations better than any people in the history of the world… We adjust to change.” ~ Dan Rather
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“If frogs had side pockets, they’d carry handguns.” ~ Dan Rather
- “I’d much rather wear out than rust out.” ~ Dan Rather
- “As long as I have my health, I want to be reporting somewhere.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Turn the lights down, the party just got wilder.” ~ Dan Rather
- “And now the sequence of events in no particular order.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Journalism is less addictive than communism.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Ratings don’t last. Good journalism does.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn’t block traffic.” ~ Dan Rather
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“These guys [the Catholic church] make Enron look like altar boys.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Catholic dioceses typically spent hundreds of thousands of dollars recklessly, then filed for bankruptcy. The goal was to avoid the money going to the hands of victims of predator priests.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
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“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
- “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
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
- “There was a time in South Africa that people would put flaming tires around peoples’ necks if they dissented. And in some ways the fear is that you will be necklaced here, you will have a flaming tire of lack of patriotism put around your neck. Now it is that fear that keeps journalists from asking the toughest of the tough questions… And again, I am humbled to say, I do not except myself from this criticism.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Foreign news is considered an expletive. Thoughtfully written analysis is out, ‘live pops’ are in. ‘Action Jackson’ is the cry. Hire lookers, not writers. Do powder puff, not probing interviews. Stay away from controversial subjects. Kiss ass, move with the mass, and for heaven and rating’s sake, don’t make anybody mad- – certainly not anybody you’re covering, and especially not the mayor, the governor, the senator, the president or the vice-president or anybody in a position of power. Make nice, not news.” ~ Dan Rather
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“Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.” ~ Dan Rather
- “It’s a legitimate point to debate. But it’s part of the reality. It’s happening, but it’s also true they (looters) are in the distinct minority. I think there’s a hero on every street corner in New Orleans, and I think the reporting has shown that. I think the balance has been there.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Journalism is not a precise science, it’s a crude art” ~ Dan Rather
- “In dealing with the press, do yourself a favor, stick with one of three responses: (a) I know and I can tell you; (b) I know and I can’t tell you; (c) I don’t know.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Performing doesn’t turn me on. It’s an egomaniac business, filled with prima donnas – including this one.” ~ Dan Rather
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“I’m part of nobody’s world except Brezhnev’s.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Those of you watching and listening, get a cup of coffee or a spot of tea and join us back here in just a few moments.” ~ Dan Rather
- “I quote the late Ed Murow. … He said: ‘Look, people listen to me when they want an eyewitness account. ‘They think I’m a pretty good reporter. But when it comes to my opinions, mine are not worth anymore than the guy at the end of the bar.’ And I believe that about myself.” ~ Dan Rather
- “Anyone who says network news cannot be profitable doesn’t know what he is talking about. But anyone who says it must “always,” make money is misguided and irresponsible.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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 quotes
- “To the pilot of a deep-sea submersible, upon finding out what would happen if the craft sprung a leak while submerged. I’ll trust you to make sure that doesn’t happen.” ~ Dan Rather
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“The reelection of Bill Clinton is as secure as a double-knot tied in wet rawhide.” ~ Dan Rather
- “I’m of the belief that you can have only one commander-in-chief at a time, only one president at a time. President Bush is our president. Whatever he decides vis-a-vis war or peace in Iraq is what we will do as a country. And I for one will swing in behind him as a citizen … and support whatever his decision is.” ~ Dan Rather
- “By more than two to one Americans do not consider what Kevorkian did, injecting a terminally ill patient with legal drugs at the patient’s request, to be the same as murder. You may want to note that laws are not supposed to be enforced on the basis of public opinion polls.” ~ Dan Rather
- “If you liked this broadcast, we hope you’ll watch it again tomorrow night and maybe tell your neighbors about it.” ~ Dan Rather
- “The American Dream is one of the greatest ideas in the history of human achievement . . . It thrives today in an age when its core components of freedom and opportunity are open to more Americans than ever before. It holds a real, identifiable place in the American heart and mind, and it informs the aspirations of everyone from farmers to software developers, from detectives to bankers, from soldiers to social workers . . . It defines us as a people, even as we add to its meaning with each new chapter in our national experience and our individual actions.” ~ Dan Rather
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“Don’t taunt the alligator until after you’ve crossed the creek.” ~ Dan Rather
- “It’s the old shell game.” ~ Dan Rather
- “I’ve tried everything. I can say to you with confidence, I know a fair amount about LSD. I’ve never been a social user of any of these things, but my curiosity has carried me into a lot of interesting areas.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
- “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.” ~ Dan Rather
