--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you're talking to the media, be a…" description: "\"When you're talking to the media, be a well, not a fountain.\" — Michael Deaver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/michael-deaver-72849_fountain_when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-we_2721053.png" --- # When you're talking to the media, be a well, not a fountain. ![“When you're talking to the media, be a well, not a fountain.” quote by Michael Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/michael-deaver-72849_fountain_when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-we_2721053.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/michael-deaver-72849_fountain_when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-we_2721053.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/michael-deaver-72849_fountain_when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-we_2721053.png) > “When you're talking to the media, be a well, not a fountain.” Michael Deaver ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When speaking to media, aim to be concise and clear rather than overly elaborate. **In simple terms:** Be concise, not overly elaborate. Key Takeaway Speak clearly and succinctly. Themes communication media clarity Mood practical direct Type political advice When to use this quote - press conferences - interviews - public statements Key Concepts public speaking message framing Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what details to include? - What risks come from being too brief? A Different Perspective Over‑simplicity may omit nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) ## Related quotes > [I think for more than half of my career, I have refrained from talking to the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-battle/i-think-for-more-than-half-of-my-career-i-have-refrained-from-talking/) [Kathleen Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-battle/) > [I hate talking to media. I hate it, man. You have to. But it's crazy. I thought there were only two things in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-angelo-russell/i-hate-talking-to-media-i-hate-it-man-you-have-to-but-it-s-crazy-i/) [D'Angelo Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-angelo-russell/) > [One of the problems with any kind of talking about the media landscape is that we've just been through an unusually stable period in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/one-of-the-problems-with-any-kind-of-talking-about-the-media/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [You have no time to do the science if you're talking to the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/you-have-no-time-to-do-the-science-if-you-re-talking-to-the-media/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [I've always been a believer that if you're not interested in talking to the media, you shouldn't be running for Senate in the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-braun/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-that-if-you-re-not-interested-in-talking/) [Mike Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-braun/) > [I don't reflect much, unless I'm talking to the media. I have more of a 'Forward, march!' kind of attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-king/i-don-t-reflect-much-unless-i-m-talking-to-the-media-i-have-more-of-a/) [Kerry King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-king/) > [The media, of course, loves to make claims about the fountain of youth. Don't believe it. No one has it. But we're getting close.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/the-media-of-course-loves-to-make-claims-about-the-fountain-of-youth/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [What's different now is that while political leaders used to give talking points to talk radio, now talk-radio hosts are giving talking points to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-avlon/what-s-different-now-is-that-while-political-leaders-used-to-give/) [John Avlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-avlon/) > [Don't hate the media, become the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jello-biafra/don-t-hate-the-media-become-the-media/) [Jello Biafra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jello-biafra/) > [I also believe that when something negative comes out about you in the media, that's only one person's opinion. These guys sometimes believe they've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-knight/i-also-believe-that-when-something-negative-comes-out-about-you-in/) [Bobby Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-knight/) > [People without an internalized symbolic system can all too easily become captives of the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/people-without-an-internalized-symbolic-system-can-all-too-easily/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Eventually the story would spill over into the regular media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brock/eventually-the-story-would-spill-over-into-the-regular-media/) [David Brock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brock/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) ## More by Michael Deaver > [The media I've had a lot to do with is lazy. We fed them and they ate it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-deaver/the-media-i-ve-had-a-lot-to-do-with-is-lazy-we-fed-them-and-they-ate/) Michael Deaver > [This business of saying the same thing over and over and over again – which to a lot of Washington insiders and pundits is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-deaver/this-business-of-saying-the-same-thing-over-and-over-and-over-again/) Michael Deaver > [I think it's very dangerous for a free society to have all the information distilled and packaged by our government and given to us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-deaver/i-think-it-s-very-dangerous-for-a-free-society-to-have-all-the/) Michael Deaver Explore all 4 Michael Deaver quotes ## More Fountain quotes > [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/) [John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [The foundation of the Christian's peace is everlasting; it is what no time, no change can destroy. It will remain when the body dies;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/the-foundation-of-the-christian-s-peace-is-everlasting-it-is-what-no/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [...O my heart! Love God as the chatrik loves the rain drops, Who even when fountains are full and the land green, Is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/o-my-heart-love-god-as-the-chatrik-loves-the-rain-drops-who-even-when/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [The thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-thing-that-awakens-the-deepest-fountain-of-gratitude-in-a-human/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The fountain of youth is like the monkey's paw in the W. W. Jacobs story. It never ends well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-monette/the-fountain-of-youth-is-like-the-monkey-s-paw-in-the-w-w-jacobs/) [Sarah Monette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-monette/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Thus parents, by humouring and cockering them when little, corrupt the principles of nature in their children, and wonder afterwards to taste the bitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/thus-parents-by-humouring-and-cockering-them-when-little-corrupt-the/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [Managing our emotions increases intuition and clarity. It helps us self-regulate our brain chemicals and internal hormones. 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But we're getting close.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/the-media-of-course-loves-to-make-claims-about-the-fountain-of-youth/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [The fountain of my heart dried up within me,-- With nought that loved me, and with nought to love, I stood upon the desert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-robert-maturin/the-fountain-of-my-heart-dried-up-within-me-with-nought-that-loved-me/) [Charles Robert Maturin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-robert-maturin/) > [They were dancing around the fountain, arm in arm, in an old Dutch dance, their cheeks touching, their hands entwined. They had no music;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/they-were-dancing-around-the-fountain-arm-in-arm-in-an-old-dutch/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“But is it such a bad thing to live like this for just a little while? Just for a few months of one’s life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/but-is-it-such-a-bad-thing-to-live-like-this-for-just-a-little-while/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) Browse all 585 Fountain quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you're talking to the media, be a well, not a fountain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Deaver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-deaver/when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-well-not-a-fountain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fountain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-deaver/when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-well-not-a-fountain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/michael-deaver-72849_fountain_when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-we_2721053.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/michael-deaver-72849_fountain_when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-we_2721053.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/michael-deaver-72849_fountain_when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-we_2721053.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you're talking to the media, be a well, not a fountain.” — Michael Deaver", "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": "Michael Deaver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-deaver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you're talking to the media,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-deaver/when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-well-not-a-fountain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-deaver/when-you-re-talking-to-the-media-be-a-well-not-a-fountain/#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 } } ] } ```