--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was journalism at its best…" description: "\"“It was journalism at its best: irreverent, mischievous and beholden to no one.”\" — Toby Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/toby-young-19678_irreverent_it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent_922862.png" --- # It was journalism at its best: irreverent, mischievous and… ![“It was journalism at its best: irreverent, mischievous and beholden to no one.” quote by Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/toby-young-19678_irreverent_it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent_922862.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/toby-young-19678_irreverent_it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent_922862.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/toby-young-19678_irreverent_it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent_922862.png) > ““It was journalism at its best: irreverent, mischievous and beholden to no one.”” [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Journalism should be bold, playful, and independent, free from external control. **In simple terms:** Bold, playful, independent journalism. Key Takeaway Embrace fearless, unconventional reporting. Themes journalism independence creativity Mood critical defiant Type observational analytical When to use this quote - newsrooms - investigative pieces - opinion columns Key Concepts media ethics free speech Questions to Reflect On - How can journalists stay independent without compromising integrity? - What boundaries should be set for irreverence? A Different Perspective Risk of sensationalism over substance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Irreverent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irreverent/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) ## Related quotes > [I guess the tone of jokes is often, at best, irreverent, but it always comes from a place of deep love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/i-guess-the-tone-of-jokes-is-often-at-best-irreverent-but-it-always/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [Journalism at its best and most effective is education. Apparently people would not learn for themselves, nor from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/journalism-at-its-best-and-most-effective-is-education-apparently/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [I found in investigative journalism it is always best, if you have any language skills, not to admit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/i-found-in-investigative-journalism-it-is-always-best-if-you-have-any/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [One of the great things about journalism, at its best I mean, is its forensic, investigative truth seeking instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-fox/one-of-the-great-things-about-journalism-at-its-best-i-mean-is-its/) [Claire Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-fox/) > [There is nothing like daily journalism! Best damn job in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bradlee/there-is-nothing-like-daily-journalism-best-damn-job-in-the-world/) [Ben Bradlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bradlee/) > [One of the sad things about contemporary journalism is that it actually matters very little. The world now is almost inured to the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/one-of-the-sad-things-about-contemporary-journalism-is-that-it/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [Birdscapes moves rather like those swallows, dipping and swerving to pick up all sorts of items of interest. Mynott tells plenty of good birding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-o-paxton/birdscapes-moves-rather-like-those-swallows-dipping-and-swerving-to/) [Robert O. Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-o-paxton/) > [I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and that by religious men, who are equally certain that they represent the Divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-approached-with-the-most-opposite-opinions-and-advice-and-that/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [God is not a static thing...but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/god-is-not-a-static-thing-but-a-dynamic-pulsating-activity-a-life/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I love being irreverent. But I hate being irrelevant. I love being irreverent because at the end of the day your actions belie your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-love-being-irreverent-but-i-hate-being-irrelevant-i-love-being/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I'm a happy guy. I like to joke around. I'm irreverent. I love my family; I love my son. I was very happy with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/i-m-a-happy-guy-i-like-to-joke-around-i-m-irreverent-i-love-my-family/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [I respect the astute and rigorously unsentimental David Horowitz as one of America's most original and courageous political analysts. He has the true 1960s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-respect-the-astute-and-rigorously-unsentimental-david-horowitz-as/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Many artists and writers have used cannabis for creative stimulation - from the writers of the world's religious masterpieces to our most irreverent satirists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-herer/many-artists-and-writers-have-used-cannabis-for-creative-stimulation/) [Jack Herer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-herer/) > [I pretty much just talk to and about men the way men talk to and about women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/i-pretty-much-just-talk-to-and-about-men-the-way-men-talk-to-and/) [Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/) ## More by Toby Young > [Teachers complain a lot about how tough their job is. But, you know, the day begins in most schools at nine o'clock, ends at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/teachers-complain-a-lot-about-how-tough-their-job-is-but-you-know-the/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [I expect that in 40 years' time I'll be writing political tomes and working for an organisation like Oxfam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/i-expect-that-in-40-years-time-i-ll-be-writing-political-tomes-and/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [Oddly, I do have a problem with authority. I find it very difficult to knuckle down and follow rules. Which are the classic symptoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/oddly-i-do-have-a-problem-with-authority-i-find-it-very-difficult-to/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [I really like the Observer. I think I'd love to have a column with a broad reach that would enable me to do some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/i-really-like-the-observer-i-think-i-d-love-to-have-a-column-with-a/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [I've never been to a shrink. But my parents were very psychologically literate - my father had undergone Freudian analysis - and we often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/i-ve-never-been-to-a-shrink-but-my-parents-were-very-psychologically/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [You know when you tell a self-deprecating story at a dinner party, everyone's laughing along with you? But then when someone else repeats that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/you-know-when-you-tell-a-self-deprecating-story-at-a-dinner-party/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [The fact that I'm a Tory who hasn't worked at a university - at least, not since I taught at Cambridge in 1990 -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/the-fact-that-i-m-a-tory-who-hasn-t-worked-at-a-university-at-least/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [If anything bad happens, the media will leap on it. We're under a huge obligation to be successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/if-anything-bad-happens-the-media-will-leap-on-it-we-re-under-a-huge/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [In my capacity as a board member of the OfS, I hope to be impartial, objective, and fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/in-my-capacity-as-a-board-member-of-the-ofs-i-hope-to-be-impartial/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [America thinks of itself as a meritocracy, so people have more respect for success and more contempt for failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/america-thinks-of-itself-as-a-meritocracy-so-people-have-more-respect/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [I tried being a mechanic and I tried catering, but I realized I had even less aptitude for semi-skilled labour than for academic work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/i-tried-being-a-mechanic-and-i-tried-catering-but-i-realized-i-had/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [My life's ambition is to play a James Bond villain. I have the cat and the eye-patch, so I'm just waiting for the call.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/my-life-s-ambition-is-to-play-a-james-bond-villain-i-have-the-cat-and/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [It's very different doing a food show in America and doing one in Britain. I did a 20-part series for the BBC series called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/it-s-very-different-doing-a-food-show-in-america-and-doing-one-in/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [I was every Londoner's stereotypical idea of a brash, vulgar American. When I got here, it turned out that London was the Wild West,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/i-was-every-londoner-s-stereotypical-idea-of-a-brash-vulgar-american/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) > [I swear, I didn't really go in thinking, 'I'll be the Simon Cowell' of 'Top Chef.' I was just used to being a judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/i-swear-i-didn-t-really-go-in-thinking-i-ll-be-the-simon-cowell-of/) [Toby Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) [Explore all 31 Toby Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/) ## More Irreverent quotes > [I pretty much just talk to and about men the way men talk to and about women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/i-pretty-much-just-talk-to-and-about-men-the-way-men-talk-to-and/) [Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/) > [Many artists and writers have used cannabis for creative stimulation - from the writers of the world's religious masterpieces to our most irreverent satirists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-herer/many-artists-and-writers-have-used-cannabis-for-creative-stimulation/) [Jack Herer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-herer/) > [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I respect the astute and rigorously unsentimental David Horowitz as one of America's most original and courageous political analysts. He has the true 1960s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-respect-the-astute-and-rigorously-unsentimental-david-horowitz-as/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I'm a happy guy. I like to joke around. I'm irreverent. I love my family; I love my son. I was very happy with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/i-m-a-happy-guy-i-like-to-joke-around-i-m-irreverent-i-love-my-family/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [I guess the tone of jokes is often, at best, irreverent, but it always comes from a place of deep love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/i-guess-the-tone-of-jokes-is-often-at-best-irreverent-but-it-always/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [I love being irreverent. But I hate being irrelevant. I love being irreverent because at the end of the day your actions belie your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-love-being-irreverent-but-i-hate-being-irrelevant-i-love-being/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [God is not a static thing...but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/god-is-not-a-static-thing-but-a-dynamic-pulsating-activity-a-life/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and that by religious men, who are equally certain that they represent the Divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-approached-with-the-most-opposite-opinions-and-advice-and-that/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Birdscapes moves rather like those swallows, dipping and swerving to pick up all sorts of items of interest. Mynott tells plenty of good birding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-o-paxton/birdscapes-moves-rather-like-those-swallows-dipping-and-swerving-to/) [Robert O. Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-o-paxton/) > [I am a big fan of Jeremy Clarkson and I love watching him on TV and reading his various columns. I think he's funny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/i-am-a-big-fan-of-jeremy-clarkson-and-i-love-watching-him-on-tv-and/) [Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/) > [Faith always presented to the mind the idea of an abnormal intellectual condition, of the subversion or suspension of the critical faculties. It sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/faith-always-presented-to-the-mind-the-idea-of-an-abnormal/) [William Edward Hartpole Lecky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/) > [I'm irreverent, I'm not politically correct, and I feel that I'm protected in my private life because I live a very public private life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-breitbart/i-m-irreverent-i-m-not-politically-correct-and-i-feel-that-i-m/) [Andrew Breitbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-breitbart/) > [“You’ve always called me irreverent. You’ve branded me irreverent. In my mind you invented irreverent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-caldwell/you-ve-always-called-me-irreverent-you-ve-branded-me-irreverent-in-my/) [Chloe Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-caldwell/) > [We're also irreverent, we have an irreverent attitude towards puppets, as well. So a lot of what we do is we're kind of making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-henson/we-re-also-irreverent-we-have-an-irreverent-attitude-towards-puppets/) [Brian Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-henson/) [Browse all 88 Irreverent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irreverent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was journalism at its best: irreverent, mischievous and beholden to no one.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Toby Young" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent-mischievous-and-beholden-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Irreverent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent-mischievous-and-beholden-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/toby-young-19678_irreverent_it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent_922862.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/toby-young-19678_irreverent_it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent_922862.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/toby-young-19678_irreverent_it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent_922862.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was journalism at its best: irreverent, mischievous and beholden to no one.” — Toby Young", "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": "Toby Young", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-young/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was journalism at its best:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent-mischievous-and-beholden-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-young/it-was-journalism-at-its-best-irreverent-mischievous-and-beholden-to/#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 } } ] } ```