Day 1 Introduction

Today I handed out a brief introduction to the class an we looked at the following quotes, writing about them and discussing them:

"Were it left to me to decide whether to have government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little." -- Tom Stoppard

"Writing is an important test of thinking. If you cannot express a point in writing, you probably have not thought it through. A murky story is usually a sign of muddy reasoning or, at best, a thought that is only half formed." -- William L. Rivers

"Newspapers should simply present all the facts the editor is of obtaining concerning men and measures before the bar of public, and then, having discharged its duty in the case, be satisfied to leave the jury in the case -- -- the public -- - to find the verdict." -- E.W. Scripps

"I learned in newspapers to make every word count. All those years of being given 1,200 words, of having the 1,200 pared to 900 at 3 o’clock, of having to take out another 100 to shoehorn it into the hole in the layout; it teaches you to make the distinction between what is necessary and what is simply you in love with the sound of your own voice.”
--Anna Quindlen