A reader ought to be able to hold it and become familiar with its organized contents and make it a mind’s manageable companion. William Safire Read Quote
To be accused of ‘channeling’ is to be dismissed as a ventriloquist’s live dummy, derogated at not having a mind of one’s own. William Safire Read Quote
Never look for the story in the ‘lede.’ Reporters are required to put what’s happened up top, but the practiced pundit places a nugget of news, even a startling insight, halfway down the column, directed at the politiscenti. When pressed for time, the savvy reader starts there. William Safire Read Quote
One challenge to the arts in America is the need to make the arts, especially the classic masterpieces, accessible and relevant to today’s audience. William Safire Read Quote
If you re-read your work, you can find on re-reading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by re-reading and editing. William Safire Read Quote
Stop worrying about the ‘dumbing down’ of our language by bloggers, tweeters, cableheads and MSM thumbsuckers engaged in a ‘race to the bottom’ of the page by little minds confined to little words. William Safire Read Quote
Do not be taken in by ‘insiderisms.’ Fledgling columnists, eager to impress readers with their grasp of journalistic jargon, are drawn to such arcane spellings as ‘lede.’ Where they lede, do not follow. William Safire Read Quote
When infuriated by an outrageous column, do not be suckered into responding with an abusive e-mail. Pundits so targeted thumb through these red-faced electronic missives with delight, saying ‘Hah! Got to ’em.’ William Safire Read Quote
The noun phrase straw man, now used as a compound adjective as in ‘straw-man device, technique or issue,’ was popularized in American culture by ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ William Safire Read Quote
