Jessica Savitch

“A press card does not provide you with an invisible shield. You're flesh and blood.”

“A fact of modern life is that it takes women longer to get ready than men.”

“Walking into a room filled with people you don't know but who know you brings out your worst vulnerabilities.”

“Newscasters cannot call attention to themselves by being too attractive or too unattractive.”

“The bad news is that 50 people died in a hotel fire; the good news is that we got exclusive footage.”

“When I was a little girl in the 1950s, it would not have been possible for me to say, I want to be an anchorwoman when I grow up.”

“News reporting is a cycle: No matter how much you work at sending a message, it's only successful if it's received.”

“In the beginning, my mother humored me when I told her I wanted to be a reporter.”

“News events cannot be controlled, nor can newscasts be mapped out like entertainment shows.”

“Shootouts are not gunfights of honor, they're gang wars and racial riots.”

“Television news is a delicate balance of serving public good and private gain.”

“What is the value of sticking a microphone in a man's face right after he has learned of his wife's death?”

“My goal was to be a network correspondent by the time I was 30.”

“How valuable NBC Magazine was in my career is questionable.”

“No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.”

“My most lucrative job in college was a stint as the regional Dodge Girl.”

“The idea of stardom was difficult to grasp. It was like being schizophrenic; there was her, the woman on television, and the real me.”

“I hadn't realized until I covered the police beat just how seedy crime is.”

“Our free enterprise system of disseminating information is collectively referred to as The Media. But there is no collective.”

“It had not occurred to me that marriage requires the same effort as a career. And unlike a career, marriage requires a joint effort.”