--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is one way that I would sum up…" description: "\"If there is one way that I would sum up what the 2016 election was on cable news, it was world-class journalists interviewing morons.\" — Jon Lovett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/jon-lovett-8245_cable-news_if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up_190970.jpg" --- # If there is one way that I would sum up what the 2016… ![“If there is one way that I would sum up what the 2016 election was on cable news, it was world-class journalists interviewing morons.” quote by Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/jon-lovett-8245_cable-news_if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up_190970.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/jon-lovett-8245_cable-news_if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up_190970.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/jon-lovett-8245_cable-news_if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up_190970.jpg) > “If there is one way that I would sum up what the 2016 election was on cable news, it was world-class journalists interviewing morons.” [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) ## 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 criticizes cable news for giving a platform to uninformed or foolish guests, suggesting a mismatch between professional journalists and absurd interview subjects. **In simple terms:** Journalists hosted foolish guests on TV. Key Takeaway Demand higher standards for interview guests. Themes media criticism political discourse journalism ethics satire Mood cynical ironic critical Type satire commentary political. When to use this quote - political analysis showsmedia consumption - newsroom hiring - public education - media literacy Key Concepts public sphere information quality celebrity culture Questions to Reflect On - How does guest choice affect public perception? - What standards should guide interviewee selection? A Different Perspective Even skilled journalists can be undermined by poor guest selection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cable news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cable-news/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news/) ## Related quotes > [If you're working on better conditions for prisoners, if you make that a popular issue and you invite mainstream media to weigh in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/if-you-re-working-on-better-conditions-for-prisoners-if-you-make-that/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [The weakness of cable news is that it chases its audience around. Your audience wants fast-paced, popular news. It needs real news. Cable news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-velshi/the-weakness-of-cable-news-is-that-it-chases-its-audience-around-your/) [Ali Velshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-velshi/) > [Cable news, by its very nature, by its formula, is very guest-heavy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cenk-uygur/cable-news-by-its-very-nature-by-its-formula-is-very-guest-heavy/) [Cenk Uygur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cenk-uygur/) > [I've become very interested in the spectrum of political discourse as seen on the cable news channels that are conveniently right in a row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/i-ve-become-very-interested-in-the-spectrum-of-political-discourse-as/) [Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/) > [Try it, folks, try it. Try it for a week without watching cable news. Now, if you're a news consumer and if you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/try-it-folks-try-it-try-it-for-a-week-without-watching-cable-news-now/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I think you could argue that President Obama could have watched a little cable news... I do think that there is value in understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-zucker/i-think-you-could-argue-that-president-obama-could-have-watched-a/) [Jeff Zucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-zucker/) > [Rarely, if ever, has a cable news channel employed a host who has previously campaigned for the business goals of the channel's parent company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stelter/rarely-if-ever-has-a-cable-news-channel-employed-a-host-who-has/) [Brian Stelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stelter/) > [“The television was on Florida Cable News. A gray-haired man behind the anchor desk reported near tragedy at a state motor vehicle office, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-dorsey/the-television-was-on-florida-cable-news-a-gray-haired-man-behind-the/) [Tim Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-dorsey/) > [I feel like people have more in common than the news reports. People getting along doesn't sell very well in the news. I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/i-feel-like-people-have-more-in-common-than-the-news-reports-people/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [ Just before I began doing this show \[The Last Word \], a dear friend of mine, Karen Russell, asked me what I was going… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/just-before-i-began-doing-this-show-the-last-word-a-dear-friend-of/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > ['CBS Sunday Morning' goes by its own pulse, a far cry from the fast-paced, Trump-obsessed cable news world. It's quality. It's often uplifting, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryn-kagan/cbs-sunday-morning-goes-by-its-own-pulse-a-far-cry-from-the-fast/) [Daryn Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryn-kagan/) > [There's discussion in athletics about how sport - where they say 'SportsCenter' has ruined the fundamentals of basketball because it's - it only applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pfeiffer/there-s-discussion-in-athletics-about-how-sport-where-they-say/) [Dan Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pfeiffer/) > ['Chip Away' is somewhat of a rail against cable news and divisive agendas... all for the almighty dollar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duff-mckagan/chip-away-is-somewhat-of-a-rail-against-cable-news-and-divisive/) [Duff McKagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duff-mckagan/) > [If you go to certain cable news shows, you're generally going to hear the viewpoints that you already have reported back to you. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-muir/if-you-go-to-certain-cable-news-shows-you-re-generally-going-to-hear/) [David Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-muir/) > [I like explaining things, and I believe that you can do very high-level explanation on basic cable news provided you are willing to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/i-like-explaining-things-and-i-believe-that-you-can-do-very-high/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) ## More by Jon Lovett > [Most of my time at the White House, I wrote very unfunny speeches, but every year, I would work on the correspondents' dinner, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/most-of-my-time-at-the-white-house-i-wrote-very-unfunny-speeches-but/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [When in doubt, mock the powerful, not the powerless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/when-in-doubt-mock-the-powerful-not-the-powerless/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [I worked on one speech about the financial system that caused the Dow to drop, like, 200 points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/i-worked-on-one-speech-about-the-financial-system-that-caused-the-dow/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [There is that definition of leadership that says, 'Leadership is convincing people to do things that they otherwise wouldn't have done because you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/there-is-that-definition-of-leadership-that-says-leadership-is/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > ['Veep' is a great satire of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/veep-is-a-great-satire-of-democracy/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [Part of my job as a presidential speechwriter (along with great writers like Jon Favreau and David Axelrod) was finding that sliver where 'presidential'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/part-of-my-job-as-a-presidential-speechwriter-along-with-great/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [There are a lot of heartbroken, anxious people that thought better of their country. We're heartbroken by how far Trump has gotten to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/there-are-a-lot-of-heartbroken-anxious-people-that-thought-better-of/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > ['1600 Penn' was a hit. It's 2018. Anything you want can be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/1600-penn-was-a-hit-it-s-2018-anything-you-want-can-be-true/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [More and more people support equality for their gay friends and neighbors, and that is not because the 'Duck Dynasty' guy almost lost his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/more-and-more-people-support-equality-for-their-gay-friends-and/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [We need people to point out groupthink - We need people to point out stale, old, dumb thinking - and we sometimes need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/we-need-people-to-point-out-groupthink-we-need-people-to-point-out/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [There's only so much mistrust we can take before things get much worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/there-s-only-so-much-mistrust-we-can-take-before-things-get-much-worse/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [When I was a kid, all I knew about Michael Jackson was that he was crazy. He had a monkey named Bubbles and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/when-i-was-a-kid-all-i-knew-about-michael-jackson-was-that-he-was/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [The First Amendment's protections have always put a great deal of responsibility in our hands: not only to respect the power of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/the-first-amendment-s-protections-have-always-put-a-great-deal-of/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [Trump is a raptor testing the fences, and he found weaknesses to escape and try things that would work, every single day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/trump-is-a-raptor-testing-the-fences-and-he-found-weaknesses-to/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) > [As a rule, I think people in L.A. are interested in any writer who brings a different skill set and experiences. There's an attraction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/as-a-rule-i-think-people-in-l-a-are-interested-in-any-writer-who/) [Jon Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) [Explore all 82 Jon Lovett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/) ## More Cable news quotes > [If you're working on better conditions for prisoners, if you make that a popular issue and you invite mainstream media to weigh in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/if-you-re-working-on-better-conditions-for-prisoners-if-you-make-that/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [If you go to certain cable news shows, you're generally going to hear the viewpoints that you already have reported back to you. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-muir/if-you-go-to-certain-cable-news-shows-you-re-generally-going-to-hear/) [David Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-muir/) > ['Chip Away' is somewhat of a rail against cable news and divisive agendas... all for the almighty dollar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duff-mckagan/chip-away-is-somewhat-of-a-rail-against-cable-news-and-divisive/) [Duff McKagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duff-mckagan/) > [There's discussion in athletics about how sport - where they say 'SportsCenter' has ruined the fundamentals of basketball because it's - it only applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pfeiffer/there-s-discussion-in-athletics-about-how-sport-where-they-say/) [Dan Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pfeiffer/) > ['CBS Sunday Morning' goes by its own pulse, a far cry from the fast-paced, Trump-obsessed cable news world. It's quality. It's often uplifting, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryn-kagan/cbs-sunday-morning-goes-by-its-own-pulse-a-far-cry-from-the-fast/) [Daryn Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryn-kagan/) > [ Just before I began doing this show \[The Last Word \], a dear friend of mine, Karen Russell, asked me what I was going… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/just-before-i-began-doing-this-show-the-last-word-a-dear-friend-of/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I feel like people have more in common than the news reports. People getting along doesn't sell very well in the news. I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/i-feel-like-people-have-more-in-common-than-the-news-reports-people/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [“The television was on Florida Cable News. A gray-haired man behind the anchor desk reported near tragedy at a state motor vehicle office, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-dorsey/the-television-was-on-florida-cable-news-a-gray-haired-man-behind-the/) [Tim Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-dorsey/) > [Rarely, if ever, has a cable news channel employed a host who has previously campaigned for the business goals of the channel's parent company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stelter/rarely-if-ever-has-a-cable-news-channel-employed-a-host-who-has/) [Brian Stelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stelter/) > [I think you could argue that President Obama could have watched a little cable news... I do think that there is value in understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-zucker/i-think-you-could-argue-that-president-obama-could-have-watched-a/) [Jeff Zucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-zucker/) > [Try it, folks, try it. Try it for a week without watching cable news. Now, if you're a news consumer and if you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/try-it-folks-try-it-try-it-for-a-week-without-watching-cable-news-now/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I've become very interested in the spectrum of political discourse as seen on the cable news channels that are conveniently right in a row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/i-ve-become-very-interested-in-the-spectrum-of-political-discourse-as/) [Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/) > [Cable news, by its very nature, by its formula, is very guest-heavy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cenk-uygur/cable-news-by-its-very-nature-by-its-formula-is-very-guest-heavy/) [Cenk Uygur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cenk-uygur/) > [The weakness of cable news is that it chases its audience around. Your audience wants fast-paced, popular news. It needs real news. Cable news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-velshi/the-weakness-of-cable-news-is-that-it-chases-its-audience-around-your/) [Ali Velshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-velshi/) > [I like explaining things, and I believe that you can do very high-level explanation on basic cable news provided you are willing to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/i-like-explaining-things-and-i-believe-that-you-can-do-very-high/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) [Browse all 71 Cable news quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cable-news/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If there is one way that I would sum up what the 2016 election was on cable news, it was world-class journalists interviewing morons.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Lovett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up-what-the-2016-election-was-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cable news" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up-what-the-2016-election-was-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/jon-lovett-8245_cable-news_if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up_190970.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/jon-lovett-8245_cable-news_if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up_190970.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/jon-lovett-8245_cable-news_if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up_190970.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If there is one way that I would sum up what the 2016 election was on cable news, it was world-class…” — Jon Lovett", "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": "Jon Lovett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lovett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If there is one way that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up-what-the-2016-election-was-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lovett/if-there-is-one-way-that-i-would-sum-up-what-the-2016-election-was-on/#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 } } ] } ```