Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Serving the public good requires grounding in truth; without it, the mission fails.
In plain terms
You cannot help the public without being truthful.
What can you take from it?
Truth is essential for any public service.

Where it applies

  • journalism
  • government
  • activism

Putting it to work

  • verify facts
  • avoid spin
  • prioritize accuracy

Questions to consider

  • Is truth always the best policy?
  • What happens when truth is ignored?

Another view

Sometimes withholding truth temporarily serves a greater good.

More from Carl Bernstein

  1. The reality is that the media are probably the most powerful of all our institutions today and they, or rather we [journalists], too often are squandering our …

    Permalink to quote #1
  2. The failures of the press have contributed immensely to the emergence of a talk-show nation, in which public discourse is reduced to ranting and raving and pos…

    Permalink to quote #3
  3. The greatest felony in the news business today is to be behind, or to miss a big story. So speed and quantity substitute for thoroughness and quality, for accu…

    Permalink to quote #4

Related quotes

  1. The passion for seeking the truth for truth's sake...can be kept alive only if we continue to seek the truth for truth's sake.

    Franz BoasFranz Boas quote #1
  2. Thou must be true thyself, If thou the truth wouldst teach; Thy soul must overflow, if thou Another's soul would'st reach! It needs the overflow of heart To gi…

    Horatius BonarHoratius Bonar quote #1
  3. I think that the decision to nominate the story for a Pulitzer is of minimal consequence. I also think that it won is of little consequence. It is a brilliant …

    Bob WoodwardBob Woodward quote #2