--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The American press is, and always has…" description: "\"The American press is, and always has been, a booster press, its editorial pages characteristically advancing the same arguments as the paid advertisin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/lewis-h-lapham-7190_advancing_the-american-press-is-and-always-has-bee_1043408.jpg" --- # The American press is, and always has been, a booster… ![“The American press is, and always has been, a booster press, its editorial pages characteristically advancing the same arguments as the paid advertising copy.” quote by Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/lewis-h-lapham-7190_advancing_the-american-press-is-and-always-has-bee_1043408.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/lewis-h-lapham-7190_advancing_the-american-press-is-and-always-has-bee_1043408.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/lewis-h-lapham-7190_advancing_the-american-press-is-and-always-has-bee_1043408.jpg) > “The American press is, and always has been, a booster press, its editorial pages characteristically advancing the same arguments as the paid advertising copy.” [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The media often mirrors advertisers, promoting the same messages as paid ads. **In simple terms:** Press repeats advertiser messages. Key Takeaway Recognize bias in news. Themes media advertising bias journalism influence Mood skeptical critical informed Type analytical critical observational When to use this quote - reading news - advertising analysis - media literacy - critical thinking Key Concepts propaganda commercial pressure ethical journalism Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify a story’s independence? - What sources can you trust? A Different Perspective The press can also serve as a watchdog, not just a booster. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advancing/) [Advertising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advertising/) [American Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-press-272717/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Booster Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/booster-press-2452078/) [Copies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copies/) [Editorial Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editorial-pages-2452081/) [Editorials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editorials/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Press Booster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/press-booster-2452080/) [Press Editorial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/press-editorial-2452079/) [Presses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presses/) ## Related quotes > [And the big issue here, I think, is that the publisher took over the editorial pages, a guy named Jeff Johnson. He's an accountant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/and-the-big-issue-here-i-think-is-that-the-publisher-took-over-the/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [Most people don't read editorial pages. I think I must have been 40 before I even looked at an editorial page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/most-people-don-t-read-editorial-pages-i-think-i-must-have-been-40/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I wear two hats at the 'Wall Street Journal': one as a columnist, the other as the editor responsible for our editorial pages in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/i-wear-two-hats-at-the-wall-street-journal-one-as-a-columnist-the/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [They (american press) always blame America first!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/they-american-press-always-blame-america-first/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [I truly believe that if torture had worked and there was a case to be made for it, we would see that on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/i-truly-believe-that-if-torture-had-worked-and-there-was-a-case-to-be/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [The American press exists for one purpose only, and that is to convince Americans that they are living in the greatest and most envied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-american-press-exists-for-one-purpose-only-and-that-is-to/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It'd be nice to claim that the American press, while maintaining objectivity and balancing against bias, is still inherently American - that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-domenech/it-d-be-nice-to-claim-that-the-american-press-while-maintaining/) [Ben Domenech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-domenech/) > [American press, like the press in many countries, acts like a cheerleader to our government rather than a critical observer. This is especially true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/american-press-like-the-press-in-many-countries-acts-like-a/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [The coverage of Central America in recent months points up one of the ugly truths about the American press: the better the news, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-barnes/the-coverage-of-central-america-in-recent-months-points-up-one-of-the/) [Fred Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-barnes/) > [The American people are not as casualty-sensitive as the weenies in the American press are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-barnes/the-american-people-are-not-as-casualty-sensitive-as-the-weenies-in/) [Fred Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-barnes/) > [The American press has the blues. Too many authorities have assured it that its days are numbered, too many good newspapers are in ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/the-american-press-has-the-blues-too-many-authorities-have-assured-it/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [The American press is extraordinarily free and vigorous, as it should be. It should be, not because it is free of inaccuracy, oversimplification and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bork/the-american-press-is-extraordinarily-free-and-vigorous-as-it-should/) [Robert Bork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bork/) > [On the whole, it seems to me that probably the American press is doing a better job of this mediation, so to speak, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-millis/on-the-whole-it-seems-to-me-that-probably-the-american-press-is-doing/) [Walter Millis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-millis/) > [The Ecuadorean and Latin American press is not like the European or North American press, which has some professional ethics. They are used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-correa/the-ecuadorean-and-latin-american-press-is-not-like-the-european-or/) [Rafael Correa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-correa/) > [“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/) ## More by Lewis H. Lapham > [The figure of the enthusiast who has just discovered jogging or a new way to fix tofu can be said to stand or, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-figure-of-the-enthusiast-who-has-just-discovered-jogging-or-a-new/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [The future turns out to be something that you make instead of find. It isn't waiting for your arrival, either with an arrest warrant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-future-turns-out-to-be-something-that-you-make-instead-of-find-it/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [The genius of capitalism consists precisely in its lack of morality. Unless he is rich enough to hire his own choir, a capitalist is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-genius-of-capitalism-consists-precisely-in-its-lack-of-morality/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [If you wear a suit, you can talk to anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/if-you-wear-a-suit-you-can-talk-to-anybody/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [We might make a public moan in the newspapers about the decay of conscience, but in private conversation, no matter what crimes a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/we-might-make-a-public-moan-in-the-newspapers-about-the-decay-of/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [ \[For American consumer society\], the country's reserves of ignorance constitute a natural resource as precious as the Mississippi River or the long-lost herds of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/for-american-consumer-society-the-country-s-reserves-of-ignorance/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [A certain kind of rich man afflicted with the symptoms of moral dandyism sooner or later comes to the conclusion that it isn't enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-certain-kind-of-rich-man-afflicted-with-the-symptoms-of-moral/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [His administration apparently means to define itself as a television program instead of a government...I don't know if it can please both its sponsors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/his-administration-apparently-means-to-define-itself-as-a-television/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [In the garden of tabloid delight, there is always a clean towel and another song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/in-the-garden-of-tabloid-delight-there-is-always-a-clean-towel-and/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/to-the-united-states-the-third-world-often-takes-the-form-of-a-black/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [About the presence of death and dying I don't remember the society in the 1950s being so skittish as it has since become. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/about-the-presence-of-death-and-dying-i-don-t-remember-the-society-in/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [Nobody suffers the pain of birth or the anguish of loving a child in order for presidents to make wars, for governments to feed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/nobody-suffers-the-pain-of-birth-or-the-anguish-of-loving-a-child-in/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [The leading cause of death is birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-leading-cause-of-death-is-birth/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [Power broken into a thousand pieces can be hidden and disowned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/power-broken-into-a-thousand-pieces-can-be-hidden-and-disowned/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) [Explore all 93 Lewis H. Lapham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) ## More Advancing quotes > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [I needed to save every penny…I needed to be strong, and needed to find some way to secure a future. That’s why I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-ka-shing/i-needed-to-save-every-penny-i-needed-to-be-strong-and-needed-to-find/) [Li Ka-shing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-ka-shing/) > [The corporation is not an independent "person" with its own rights, needs, and desires that regulators must respect. It is a state created tool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-bakan/the-corporation-is-not-an-independent-person-with-its-own-rights/) [Joel Bakan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-bakan/) > [I believe that the manned space program can engage the public by advancing the space frontier. Every next mission takes you farther out in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-believe-that-the-manned-space-program-can-engage-the-public-by/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Five qualities there are wine's praise advancing; Strong, beautiful, fragrant, cool and dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-harington/five-qualities-there-are-wine-s-praise-advancing-strong-beautiful/) [John Harington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-harington/) > [Ladies: Anne Hathaway is a feminist and she has amazing teeth. Let's save our bad attitudes for the ones who aren't advancing the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/ladies-anne-hathaway-is-a-feminist-and-she-has-amazing-teeth-let-s/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [Increasingly constructive doubt is the sign of advancing civilization. We must put question marks along many of our inherited legal dogmas, since they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-frank/increasingly-constructive-doubt-is-the-sign-of-advancing-civilization/) [Jerome Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-frank/) > [What's important is how we use our time on this earth, not how conspicuously we give our money away. What's important is the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pallotta/what-s-important-is-how-we-use-our-time-on-this-earth-not-how/) [Dan Pallotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pallotta/) > [Advancing bourgeois society liquidates memory, time, recollection as irrational leftovers of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/advancing-bourgeois-society-liquidates-memory-time-recollection-as/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [The real debate is we've had an activist court, and the American people don't want an activist court. And the real fear from those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-coburn/the-real-debate-is-we-ve-had-an-activist-court-and-the-american/) [Tom Coburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-coburn/) > [When one has made a decision to kill a person, even if it will be very difficult to succeed by advancing straight ahead, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/when-one-has-made-a-decision-to-kill-a-person-even-if-it-will-be-very/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [The universe is deathless; Is deathless because, having no finite self, it stays infinite. A sound man by not advancing himself stays the further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-universe-is-deathless-is-deathless-because-having-no-finite-self/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I'm convinced after spending three weeks in China and Tibet, unless the United States gets its act together, our grandchildren will be living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-kondracke/i-m-convinced-after-spending-three-weeks-in-china-and-tibet-unless/) [Mort Kondracke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-kondracke/) [Browse all 266 Advancing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advancing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The American press is, and always has been, a booster press, its editorial pages characteristically advancing the same arguments as the paid advertising copy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis H. 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