If you're curious, you'll probably be a good journalist because we follow our curiosity like cats.
Interpretation
Curiosity drives effective journalism, similar to how cats are naturally curious.
Diane Sawyer emphasizes the critical role of curiosity in journalism, likening the investigative instinct of a journalist to that of a cat, which is characterized by a continuous quest for knowledge and exploration. This quote suggests that a journalist's ability to ask questions and seek out new information stems from a genuine curiosity about the world around them, making it an essential trait for success in the field.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of journalism, one might say, 'As Diane Sawyer said, if you're curious, you'll probably be a good journalist.'
I read once, which I loved so much, that this great physicist who won a Nobel Prize said that every day when he got home, his dad asked him not what he learned in school but his dad said, 'Did you ask any great questions today?' And I always thought, what a beautiful way to educate kids that we're excited by their questions, not by our answers and whether they can repeat our answers.
The Center for Public Integrity is the real thing. A group of dedicated people who remember that great journalism is about grit and guts and stamina and razor-sharp instincts. They are, thank heaven, here to stay.
I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention.
People assume you can't be shy and be on television. They're wrong.
I'm always fascinated by the way memory diffuses fact.
Follow what you are genuinely passionate about and let that guide you to your destination.
Children, in a way, are constant learners. Certainly sponge-like. Absorbing everything without careful analysis, even though, at the same time, they are certainly capable of incredible insights.
"It would seem that you have no useful skill or talent whatsoever" he said. "Have you thought of going into teaching?"
My students have shown me so many times that it's not always about being the perfect person in the perfect position - it's about showing up when you're needed.
The book must of necessity be put into a bookcase. And the bookcase must be housed. And the house must be kept. And the library must be dusted, must be arranged, must be catalogued. What a vista of toil, yet not unhappy toil!
Once you've got a child to the point that they've discovered books, they're safe. There's a world of the imagination that when they're hurt or upset, they can move into, and it is wonderful.
We cannot protect our children from life. Therefore, it is essential to prepare them for it. Feeling sorry for children is one of the most seriously damaging attitudes we can have. It so greatly demonstrates to them and to ourselves that we lack faith in them and their ability to cope with adversities.
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