--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think if journalists were responsible…" description: "\"I think if journalists were responsible for international policy we'd have a nuclear war every week.\" — Tony Benn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/tony-benn-2543_journalism_i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible_2810513.png" --- # I think if journalists were responsible for international… ![“I think if journalists were responsible for international policy we'd have a nuclear war every week.” quote by Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/tony-benn-2543_journalism_i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible_2810513.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/tony-benn-2543_journalism_i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible_2810513.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/tony-benn-2543_journalism_i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible_2810513.png) > “I think if journalists were responsible for international policy we'd have a nuclear war every week.” [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) ## 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 sarcastically suggests that if journalists controlled policy, the world would face constant nuclear conflict, highlighting perceived irresponsibility in media influence. **In simple terms:** Journalists making policy would cause chaos. Key Takeaway Critique media overreach. Themes media policy responsibility Mood critical ironic Type political philosophical When to use this quote - news commentary - policy debates - media literacy workshops Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - What role should journalists play in shaping policy? - How can media be held accountable responsibly? A Different Perspective It exaggerates for effect, ignoring constructive journalism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [International Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international-policy-710121/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Journalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalists/) [Journalists Responsible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalists-responsible-3516923/) [Nuclear war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-war/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Responsible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsible/) [Think Journalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-journalists-1055625/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think journalists should talk about whom they're voting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/i-don-t-think-journalists-should-talk-about-whom-they-re-voting-for/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I think of us as journalists; the medium we work in is blogging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-of-us-as-journalists-the-medium-we-work-in-is-blogging/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For a long time I think journalists and society at large really did drink that Kool-Aid. They bought the message that the tech industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wylie/for-a-long-time-i-think-journalists-and-society-at-large-really-did/) [Christopher Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wylie/) > [And as a result, I guess I'm just kind of a rubberneck. I'm kind of a - someone who likes to see things and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/and-as-a-result-i-guess-i-m-just-kind-of-a-rubberneck-i-m-kind-of-a/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [On the whole, I think journalists have been kind about me, but they do make me sound a bit of a dreary cow. 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Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/a-lot-of-people-involved-with-celebrity-journalism-have-interesting/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [I think some journalists and bloggers want their articles to be clever, and the way into that is by writing nasty things. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ford/i-think-some-journalists-and-bloggers-want-their-articles-to-be/) [Tom Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ford/) > [In order to fight militarism under Hillary Clinton or under Donald Trump, it's very important that we cast a vote on behalf of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/in-order-to-fight-militarism-under-hillary-clinton-or-under-donald/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [I'm a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gordon/i-m-a-member-of-the-pacific-council-on-international-policy/) [Howard Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gordon/) ## More by Tony Benn > [Experience is the only real teacher and if you keep a diary you get three bites at educating yourself - when it happens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/experience-is-the-only-real-teacher-and-if-you-keep-a-diary-you-get/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Someone comes every morning at nine o'clock to see if I am still alive. I do get lonely, yes, but I have the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/someone-comes-every-morning-at-nine-o-clock-to-see-if-i-am-still/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Middle class Labour leaders are recaptured by the establishment when they die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/middle-class-labour-leaders-are-recaptured-by-the-establishment-when/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Change from below, the formulation of demands from the populace to end unacceptable injustice, supported by direct action, has played a far larger part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/change-from-below-the-formulation-of-demands-from-the-populace-to-end/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [People would do well to ask themselves how many of their ambitions and aspirations derive from the type of economic system they inhabit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/people-would-do-well-to-ask-themselves-how-many-of-their-ambitions/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/most-things-in-life-are-moments-of-pleasure-and-a-lifetime-of/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [You have to try to build support around causes. 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My wife said 'why don't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/normally-people-give-up-parliament-because-they-want-to-do-more/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Food movement organic food stores supplies health food products and facilitate with instrumental support in organic agriculture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/food-movement-organic-food-stores-supplies-health-food-products-and/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [We are not just here to manage capitalism but to change society and to define its finer values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/we-are-not-just-here-to-manage-capitalism-but-to-change-society-and/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [I think there are two ways in which people are controlled - first of all frighten people and secondly demoralize them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/i-think-there-are-two-ways-in-which-people-are-controlled-first-of/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [People in debt become hopeless and hopeless people don’t vote. They always say that that everyone should vote but I think that if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/people-in-debt-become-hopeless-and-hopeless-people-don-t-vote-they/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Workers are not going to be fobbed off with a few shares...or by a carbon copy of the German system of co-determination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/workers-are-not-going-to-be-fobbed-off-with-a-few-shares-or-by-a/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [No medieval monarch in the whole of British history ever had such power as every modern British Prime Minister has in his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/no-medieval-monarch-in-the-whole-of-british-history-ever-had-such/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Having served in eleven Parliaments, it would be difficult to describe this as a maiden speech. It would be like Elizabeth Taylor appearing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/having-served-in-eleven-parliaments-it-would-be-difficult-to-describe/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) [Explore all 162 Tony Benn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) ## More Journalism quotes > [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/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. 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There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [One lesson to learn is that the press and the broadcasters are not neutral. 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Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [People think they're getting objective information, but they're not. They're getting news wrapped up in opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-samuels/people-think-they-re-getting-objective-information-but-they-re-not/) [Lynn Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-samuels/) [Browse all 8,189 Journalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think if journalists were responsible for international policy we'd have a nuclear war every week.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Benn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible-for-international-policy-we-d/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Journalism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible-for-international-policy-we-d/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/tony-benn-2543_journalism_i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible_2810513.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/tony-benn-2543_journalism_i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible_2810513.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/tony-benn-2543_journalism_i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible_2810513.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think if journalists were responsible for international policy we'd have a nuclear war every week.” — Tony Benn", "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": "Tony Benn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think if journalists were responsible...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible-for-international-policy-we-d/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/i-think-if-journalists-were-responsible-for-international-policy-we-d/#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 } } ] } ```