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"The core values of journalism ought to be the same no matter what the medium is. And that's the integrity of the reporter and his courage to go to where the story is and tell it in a way that viewers or listeners can understand."

"I don't see that kind of leadership putting aside the impact it would have had on the stock prices in favor of a principle like the First Amendment. Newspapers are still standing their ground on the First Amendment. I don't know what's going to happen in broadcasting."

"I have a pretty solid body of work that emphasized the words, emphasized ideas, and the craft of writing for this medium. It's not literary, I wouldn't presume to suggest that. But I think you can elevate it a little bit sometimes with the most important part of the medium, which is what people are saying -- whether they're the people being interviewed or the guy who's telling the story. It's not literature, but it can be very classy journalism."

"In the best of all possible worlds, everybody would be honorable, but that's not the way the world works. Reputations for reporters are made by discovering things underneath that rock."

"We all learn to depend on the picture. But I think writing makes so much difference ... it seems to me, for someone starting out, just to learn how to write would mean that you would have a respect for words, you'd have a respect for accuracy and truth, and if you brought that into television, it would begin to help."

"'Nightline' has a great mission - to be able to do only one subject for half an hour tonight that is not trying to be the broadcast of record, is not trying to have any other obligation than to be interesting. When people tune in to 'Nightline' at 11:35, they say, 'I wonder what Ted thinks is interesting,' and 'I wonder what Ted's doing.'"