--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing good editorials is chiefly…" description: "\"Writing good editorials is chiefly telling the people what they think, not what you think.\" — Arthur Brisbane" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/arthur-brisbane-27401_editorials_writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telli_2930778.png" --- # Writing good editorials is chiefly telling the people what… ![“Writing good editorials is chiefly telling the people what they think, not what you think.” quote by Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/arthur-brisbane-27401_editorials_writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telli_2930778.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/arthur-brisbane-27401_editorials_writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telli_2930778.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/arthur-brisbane-27401_editorials_writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telli_2930778.png) > “Writing good editorials is chiefly telling the people what they think, not what you think.” [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective editorials reflect public opinion rather than imposing the writer’s personal view. **In simple terms:** Good editorials echo what people think, not the writer’s. Key Takeaway Listen to audience before writing. Themes media communication public opinion Mood pragmatic analytical Type journalistic instructional When to use this quote - newsrooms - public relations - content strategy Key Concepts journalism ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance audience voice with expertise? - When is it appropriate to challenge popular opinion? A Different Perspective Ignoring personal insight may limit depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The media is tremendously important for all governments that are able to communicate through the it. It doesn't mean there is a balance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/the-media-is-tremendously-important-for-all-governments-that-are-able/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [ Broadly speaking, in the past few years, we've more than doubled the editorial staff \[in Mother Jones\], as part of ramping up daily operations… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-jeffery/broadly-speaking-in-the-past-few-years-we-ve-more-than-doubled-the/) [Clara Jeffery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-jeffery/) > [Vanity Fair has but two major articles in its editorial creed: first, to believe in the progress and promise of American life, and, second,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-crowninshield/vanity-fair-has-but-two-major-articles-in-its-editorial-creed-first/) [Frank Crowninshield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-crowninshield/) > [If you're going to be in the business of news and telling people the truth... you've got to be honest. You've got to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-lemon/if-you-re-going-to-be-in-the-business-of-news-and-telling-people-the/) [Don Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-lemon/) > [People think they're getting objective information, but they're not. They're getting news wrapped up in opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-samuels/people-think-they-re-getting-objective-information-but-they-re-not/) [Lynn Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-samuels/) > [It is beginning to be doubtful whether Parliament and Congress sit in Westminster and Washington, or in the editorial rooms of the leading journals,--so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-beginning-to-be-doubtful-whether-parliament-and-congress-sit-in/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Whenever I write anything that sets up controversy its meaning is distorted almost instantly. Even the editorial writers of newspapers seem to be unable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/whenever-i-write-anything-that-sets-up-controversy-its-meaning-is/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Editorials are editorials. They a supposed to have an opinion, even a very strong one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/editorials-are-editorials-they-a-supposed-to-have-an-opinion-even-a/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [In my first year or so at the 'Post,' I began to write with some frequency on the least important issues - so-called light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-graham/in-my-first-year-or-so-at-the-post-i-began-to-write-with-some/) [Katharine Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-graham/) > [Someone said to me that we have to encourage more young women to want top-level editing jobs. I think that will happen naturally as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-friedman/someone-said-to-me-that-we-have-to-encourage-more-young-women-to-want/) [Ann Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-friedman/) > [I think we need editorial oversight now more than ever. Anything we can do to help newspapers find new ways of expression that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-think-we-need-editorial-oversight-now-more-than-ever-anything-we/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Real writers-that is, capital W Writers-rarely make much money. Their biggest reward is the occasional reader's response… Commentators-in-print voicing big fat opinions-you might call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/real-writers-that-is-capital-w-writers-rarely-make-much-money-their/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [I do love editorials - youre free to do whatever you want and portray a different character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacquelyn-jablonski/i-do-love-editorials-youre-free-to-do-whatever-you-want-and-portray-a/) [Jacquelyn Jablonski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacquelyn-jablonski/) > [Those who write the editorials and those who write the columns, they simply are unaccountable. They're free to impose their cultural politics in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/those-who-write-the-editorials-and-those-who-write-the-columns-they/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) ## More by Arthur Brisbane > [Regret for time wasted can become a power for good in the time that remains, if we will only stop the waste and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/regret-for-time-wasted-can-become-a-power-for-good-in-the-time-that/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [Among the aimless, unsuccessful or worthless, you often hear talk about 'killing time.' The man who is always killing time is really killing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/among-the-aimless-unsuccessful-or-worthless-you-often-hear-talk-about/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [Whatever good there is in small boys is usually based upon their admiration for girls of their own age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/whatever-good-there-is-in-small-boys-is-usually-based-upon-their/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [Wine is the most noble and beneficial of alcoholic drinks. Wine is for the sedentary whose work is thinking. Natural wines have been used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/wine-is-the-most-noble-and-beneficial-of-alcoholic-drinks-wine-is-for/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [If you don't hit a newspaper reader between the eyes with your first sentence, there is no need of writing a second one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/if-you-don-t-hit-a-newspaper-reader-between-the-eyes-with-your-first/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [The commonest form, one of the most often neglected, and the safest opportunity for the average man to seize, is hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/the-commonest-form-one-of-the-most-often-neglected-and-the-safest/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [Opportunity comes like a snail, and once it has passed you it changes into a fleet rabbit and is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/opportunity-comes-like-a-snail-and-once-it-has-passed-you-it-changes/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [That Edison or Lincoln could have been Edison or Lincoln after four years of Harvard is improbable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/that-edison-or-lincoln-could-have-been-edison-or-lincoln-after-four/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [While the fool is enjoying the little he has, I will hunt for more. The way to hunt for more is to utilize your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/while-the-fool-is-enjoying-the-little-he-has-i-will-hunt-for-more-the/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [Every minute that you save by making it useful, more profitable, is so much added to your life and its possibilities. Every minute lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/every-minute-that-you-save-by-making-it-useful-more-profitable-is-so/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [Hang your idea on a peg that all can read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/hang-your-idea-on-a-peg-that-all-can-read/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [Time is the one thing we possess. Our success depends upon the use of our time, and its by-product, the odd moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/time-is-the-one-thing-we-possess-our-success-depends-upon-the-use-of/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [A newspaper is a mirror reflecting the public, a mirror more or less defective, but still a mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/a-newspaper-is-a-mirror-reflecting-the-public-a-mirror-more-or-less/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/use-a-picture-it-s-worth-a-thousand-words/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [Get away from the crowd when you can. Keep yourself to yourself, if only for a few hours daily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/get-away-from-the-crowd-when-you-can-keep-yourself-to-yourself-if/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) [Explore all 20 Arthur Brisbane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) ## More Editorials quotes > [The media is tremendously important for all governments that are able to communicate through the it. It doesn't mean there is a balance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/the-media-is-tremendously-important-for-all-governments-that-are-able/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [Real writers-that is, capital W Writers-rarely make much money. Their biggest reward is the occasional reader's response… Commentators-in-print voicing big fat opinions-you might call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/real-writers-that-is-capital-w-writers-rarely-make-much-money-their/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [I do love editorials - youre free to do whatever you want and portray a different character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacquelyn-jablonski/i-do-love-editorials-youre-free-to-do-whatever-you-want-and-portray-a/) [Jacquelyn Jablonski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacquelyn-jablonski/) > [It is beginning to be doubtful whether Parliament and Congress sit in Westminster and Washington, or in the editorial rooms of the leading journals,--so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-beginning-to-be-doubtful-whether-parliament-and-congress-sit-in/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Vanity Fair has but two major articles in its editorial creed: first, to believe in the progress and promise of American life, and, second,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-crowninshield/vanity-fair-has-but-two-major-articles-in-its-editorial-creed-first/) [Frank Crowninshield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-crowninshield/) > [ Broadly speaking, in the past few years, we've more than doubled the editorial staff \[in Mother Jones\], as part of ramping up daily operations… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-jeffery/broadly-speaking-in-the-past-few-years-we-ve-more-than-doubled-the/) [Clara Jeffery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-jeffery/) > [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I think we need editorial oversight now more than ever. Anything we can do to help newspapers find new ways of expression that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-think-we-need-editorial-oversight-now-more-than-ever-anything-we/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Someone said to me that we have to encourage more young women to want top-level editing jobs. I think that will happen naturally as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-friedman/someone-said-to-me-that-we-have-to-encourage-more-young-women-to-want/) [Ann Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-friedman/) > [In my first year or so at the 'Post,' I began to write with some frequency on the least important issues - so-called light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-graham/in-my-first-year-or-so-at-the-post-i-began-to-write-with-some/) [Katharine Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-graham/) > [Editorials are editorials. They a supposed to have an opinion, even a very strong one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/editorials-are-editorials-they-a-supposed-to-have-an-opinion-even-a/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [Whenever I write anything that sets up controversy its meaning is distorted almost instantly. Even the editorial writers of newspapers seem to be unable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/whenever-i-write-anything-that-sets-up-controversy-its-meaning-is/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Those who write the editorials and those who write the columns, they simply are unaccountable. They're free to impose their cultural politics in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/those-who-write-the-editorials-and-those-who-write-the-columns-they/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Any expensive ad represents the toil, attention, testing, wit, art, and skill of many people. Far more thought and care go into the composition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/any-expensive-ad-represents-the-toil-attention-testing-wit-art-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [My days are kind of controlled by my projects, so sometimes they're album covers. Sometimes they're commission portrait shoots. Sometimes they are editorial, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-friedman/my-days-are-kind-of-controlled-by-my-projects-so-sometimes-they-re/) [Carol Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-friedman/) Browse all 121 Editorials quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing good editorials is chiefly telling the people what they think, not what you think.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Brisbane" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telling-the-people-what-they-think/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Editorials" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telling-the-people-what-they-think/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/arthur-brisbane-27401_editorials_writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telli_2930778.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/arthur-brisbane-27401_editorials_writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telli_2930778.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/arthur-brisbane-27401_editorials_writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telli_2930778.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing good editorials is chiefly telling the people what they think, not what you think.” — Arthur Brisbane", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Brisbane", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing good editorials is chiefly telling...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telling-the-people-what-they-think/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/writing-good-editorials-is-chiefly-telling-the-people-what-they-think/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```