Bills Quote by Nat Hentoff
“After New - when Newhouse bought The New Yorker, he said in one of those grand press conferences that 'Bill Shawn will stay here as long as he wants to be here.' Well, he wanted to be here until he died, but he wasn't allowed to.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Press conference announcing Newhouse acquisition of The New Yorker, 1975
A promise of job security was made, but later the promised tenure was revoked, ending the employee’s career prematurely.
In simple terms: A promised position was later taken away.
Key Takeaway
Beware of promises that may not be honored.
Themes
career
trust
authority
tenure
media
Mood
cautious
critical
reflective
Type
advisory
warning
When to use this quote
- journalism
- media management
- career planning
- labor rights
Key Concepts
contractual obligations
organizational change
power dynamics
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you protect yourself against broken promises?
- What safeguards can organizations put in place?
A Different Perspective
Promises can be broken when power shifts.
![“If [Bill Shawn] liked the piece, then he would run it. But he wanted the magazine to be something that was more than just a weekly event. And as a result you could pick up a New Yorker under him, as I mentioned before, a year from then or 10 years or 20 years and there would always be something…” quote by Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/158/nat-hentoff-1615_bills_if-bill-shawn-liked-the-piece-then-he-wo_1950058.jpg)
![“My chronology is terrible. [Work with William Shawn] must have some ago. It was after he was fired by Newhouse. After New - when Newhouse bought The New Yorker, he said in one of those grand press” quote by Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b15/nat-hentoff-1615_chronology_my-chronology-is-terrible-work-with-will_68342.jpg)
![“I know that some of the folks in the press are uptight about this [moving the press corps out of the West Wing ], and I understand. What we're - the only thing that's been discussed is whether or not the initial press conferences are going to be in that small press - and for the people listening…” quote by Reince Priebus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/940/reince-priebus-3623_conferences_i-know-that-some-of-the-folks-in-the-pre_23230.jpg)
![“[Margot Hentoff] thinks - first of all, she - this I hear from a lot of people beside her. She thinks that men have no business getting into this argument at all unless they're going to be pro-choice. But it turns out that a fair number of fetuses are male, and besides that, we are all one part of…” quote by Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/060/nat-hentoff-1615_argument_margot-hentoff-thinks-first-of-all-she-t_42891.jpg)
![“We disagree heavily on abortion [with Margot Hentoff].” quote by Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b48/nat-hentoff-1615_abortion_we-disagree-heavily-on-abortion-with-mar_70628.jpg)
![“[My wife Margot] was the - I guess, the coordinator or the production manager [of The Jazz Review], and we got to know each other and we married.” quote by Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/18d/nat-hentoff-1615_coordinator_my-wife-margot-was-the-i-guess-the-coord_104123.jpg)
![“[A.J. Muste] was - he - I don't know what he finally came out believing in, but it was some kind of higher being.” quote by Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c49/nat-hentoff-1615_believe_a-j-muste-was-he-i-don-t-know-what-he-fi_209477.jpg)
![“Margot [Hentoff] dislikes Bill Clinton because he's totally untrustworthy, and you really ought to have some faith in whoever's going to be your president.” quote by Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cc7/nat-hentoff-1615_bills_margot-hentoff-dislikes-bill-clinton-bec_218363.jpg)
![“[Sport officials] blocked their support of us. But those individuals [ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar ] were old enough, they were wise enough, and they knew their history and this is why they came out in support of us, because they knew that we had our finger…” quote by John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/13b/john-carlos-16923_bills_sport-officials-blocked-their-support-of_4987.jpg)
![“[A]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air. And be careful what you swallow.” quote by Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/da8/dr-seuss-1224_advice_a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-f_6806.jpg)
![“I will not agree to have this bill [to repeal DADT ] go forward, because our economy is in the tank.” quote by John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c2c/john-mccain-465_agree_i-will-not-agree-to-have-this-bill-to-re_7321.jpg)
