--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The whole point to American journalism is…" description: "\"The whole point to American journalism is what ought to be true is true. Since I ought to be arrogant, impressed with my social position, overwhelmed b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/gore-vidal-466_arrogant_the-whole-point-to-american-journalism-i_1489582.jpg" --- # The whole point to American journalism is what ought to be… ![“The whole point to American journalism is what ought to be true is true. Since I ought to be arrogant, impressed with my social position, overwhelmed by my beauty, therefore I am.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/gore-vidal-466_arrogant_the-whole-point-to-american-journalism-i_1489582.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/gore-vidal-466_arrogant_the-whole-point-to-american-journalism-i_1489582.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/gore-vidal-466_arrogant_the-whole-point-to-american-journalism-i_1489582.jpg) > “The whole point to American journalism is what ought to be true is true. Since I ought to be arrogant, impressed with my social position, overwhelmed by my beauty, therefore I am.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote sat that journalism should reflect objective truth, not personal ego or status. **In simple terms:** Journalism must prioritize truth over self‑importance. Key Takeaway Seek truth, set aside ego. Themes journalism truth ego media integrity Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - newsrooms - editorial meetings - public commentary - media criticism Key Concepts objective truth ethical reporting media criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you separate personal bias from factual reporting? - What mechanisms ensure journalistic integrity? A Different Perspective Personal bias can distort reporting, even with good intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) ## Related quotes > [The whole point to American journalism is what ought to be true is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-whole-point-to-american-journalism-is-what-ought-to-be-true-is-2/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Since I ought to be arrogant, impressed with my social position, overwhelmed by my beauty, therefore I am. Actually I was never my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/since-i-ought-to-be-arrogant-impressed-with-my-social-position/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The profession of journalism ought to be about telling people what they need to know - not what they want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/the-profession-of-journalism-ought-to-be-about-telling-people-what/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [When it is not in our power to follow what is true, we ought to follow what is most probable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/when-it-is-not-in-our-power-to-follow-what-is-true-we-ought-to-follow/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [The theologians also should not be irritated. For if they find that this opinion is false, then they would be free to condemn it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/the-theologians-also-should-not-be-irritated-for-if-they-find-that/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [It is all true, or it ought to be; and more and better besides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-all-true-or-it-ought-to-be-and-more-and-better-besides/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Variant: When it is not in our power to follow what is true, we ought to follow what is most probable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/variant-when-it-is-not-in-our-power-to-follow-what-is-true-we-ought/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [When something ought to be true then it proves to be a very powerful truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/when-something-ought-to-be-true-then-it-proves-to-be-a-very-powerful/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [You ought to be true for the sake of the folks who think you are true. You never should stoop to a deed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-guest/you-ought-to-be-true-for-the-sake-of-the-folks-who-think-you-are-true/) [Edgar Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-guest/) > [Believe that story false that ought not to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/believe-that-story-false-that-ought-not-to-be-true/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [He who would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things ought himself to be a true poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/he-who-would-not-be-frustrate-of-his-hope-to-write-well-hereafter-in/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“MH: In an early letter to William Kennedy you spoke of the "dry rot" of American journalism. Tell me what you think. What's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/mh-in-an-early-letter-to-william-kennedy-you-spoke-of-the-dry-rot-of/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [During a recent panel on the numerous failures of American journalism, I proposed that almost all stories about government should begin: “Look out! They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/during-a-recent-panel-on-the-numerous-failures-of-american-journalism/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [There has to be some decorum left in politics and in American journalism as well. Our husbands are the candidates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-mccain/there-has-to-be-some-decorum-left-in-politics-and-in-american/) [Cindy McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-mccain/) > [I can only speak as an American, but most journalism here isn't doing its job any more. It's about selling stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/i-can-only-speak-as-an-american-but-most-journalism-here-isn-t-doing/) [Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Arrogant quotes > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/what-i-would-say-to-filmmakers-if-i-may-be-so-bold-or-so-arrogant-is/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I absolutely hate arrogant people, irks me to no end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-absolutely-hate-arrogant-people-irks-me-to-no-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Mourinho is a bit arrogant, but you've got to like him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nicol/mourinho-is-a-bit-arrogant-but-you-ve-got-to-like-him/) [Steve Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nicol/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [I was spoiled and I was arrogant. I was very demanding, had an overblown image of who I was and got a reputation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judge-reinhold/i-was-spoiled-and-i-was-arrogant-i-was-very-demanding-had-an/) [Judge Reinhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judge-reinhold/) > [We are not being arrogant or complacent when we are said that our country, as a united nation, has never in its entire history,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/we-are-not-being-arrogant-or-complacent-when-we-are-said-that-our/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“So you intend to go through life never loving anyone? Just … things?” “No. I’m looking for something more.” “More than love?” “Yes.” “Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-ahdieh/so-you-intend-to-go-through-life-never-loving-anyone-just-things-no-i/) [Renee Ahdieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-ahdieh/) > [People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they are angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-are-tired-of-wasteful-government-programs-and-welfare/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“He was a man. Handsome as sin, arrogant as fuck, and in need of at least one woman to prove he wasn’t God’s gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-blue/he-was-a-man-handsome-as-sin-arrogant-as-fuck-and-in-need-of-at-least/) [Melissa Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-blue/) > [Being nice to people gets you nowhere. Being arrogant gets you nowhere. Blackmail, now that's a thing that will get you everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-to-people-gets-you-nowhere-being-arrogant-gets-you-nowhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,146 Arrogant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The whole point to American journalism is what ought to be true is true. 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