Stonewalled Quotes

“We must challenge any administration both publicly and legally if they violate ethics or the law, or betray the public they’re supposed to serve.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“When it comes to green energy investigations, I conclude that the internal opposition I face has its origins in the personal beliefs of those who decide which stories go on the air and which are kept off. The purpose of the stories I propose isn’t to examine the general merits or shortfalls of the technology, ideology, or movement. They’re financial stories delving into possible waste, abuse, and questionable spending of tax dollars. What I didn’t anticipate is that some colleagues and managers, unable to disconnect their personal viewpoints from their duty as journalists, would view this line of reporting as damaging to a cause about which they hold deep-rooted beliefs. Fearful that the stories would discourage rather than promote green energy, they want to prevent the public from seeing them at all. It’s a paternalistic attitude that results in de facto censorship. Simply put: they decide that it’s best for you to not hear a story at all rather than run the risk that you might see it and form the “wrong” opinion. (By that, I mean an opinion that differs from theirs.)”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“I discovered this tie several years ago when reporting on an FDA source’s tip about the suspected link between antiperspirants and breast cancer. The FDA official told me that the agency was contemplating requiring a breast cancer warning on antiperspirants based on several studies suggesting a possible link. But some inside the FDA felt that industry opposition would be insurmountable. It was an inside debate that would interest many in the public. As I pursued the story, the cosmetics industry wouldn’t do an interview but referred me to the American Cancer Society, which, they assured me, would defend their interests. Indeed, the American Cancer Society was all too happy to agree to appear on camera debunking any idea of a link between antiperspirants and breast cancer. But in my pre-interview with the Cancer Society’s chief doctor, I discovered he hadn’t read—and apparently didn’t know about—the latest peer-reviewed, published studies suggesting a link. That’s when I thought to ask the Cancer Society if it got funding from the cosmetics industry. The answer was a very defensive “Yes.” But the charity wouldn’t disclose how much and said they wouldn’t go through with the on-camera interview unless I agreed not to ask about the antiperspirant industry funding. I forwarded the studies to the American Cancer Society’s doctor. When he did the on-camera interview with me, he reversed his earlier position that had claimed the antiperspirant–breast cancer link was a “myth.” Instead, he answered my questions by deflecting—repeatedly stating, when asked about the latest antiperspirant studies, that women have more important things to focus on, such as getting regular mammograms.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“After Watergate, few would have predicted today’s dynamic in which some journalists view their job not as questioning the powers that be, but undermining those who report on the powers that be.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“Worried about the wrong things and not worried about the right things. The tendency to stick to mostly “safe” stories means you’ll see a lot of so-called day-of-air reports on topics that won’t generate pushback from the special interests we care about. Think: weather, polls, surveys, studies, positive medical news, the pope, celebrities, obituaries, press conferences, government announcements, animals, the British royals, and heartwarming features. They fill airtime much like innocuous white noise.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“In reality, for those who bother to look, history and experience teach that the biggest dose of skepticism should be reserved for the authorities that seek to influence us and the information they want us to receive.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“THE POLITICAL-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX Big corporations rule the world. You may choose not to believe it. That’s exactly what they’re counting on. They influence vast amounts of information we receive. They control some facets of government so effectively that the government has all but given up trying to resist it. And it’s the same whether we’re talking about Democrats or Republicans.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“Pushing original and investigative reporting has become like trying to feed the managers spinach. They don’t like the taste, but they occasionally hold their nose and indulge because it’s good for them—or because it looks good. They much prefer it to be sugarcoated, deep-fried, or otherwise disguised so that it goes down easier.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“Snooping scandal. As serious as the implications are, the media manages to give it a catchy little name. Not so much intruding, trespassing, invading, or spying. Snooping. You know, like a boyfriend snoops around on his girlfriend’s Facebook account. Or kids snoop through the closets for Christmas packages. It’s like dubbing HealthCare.gov’s disastrous launch a “glitch.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“The Obama administration’s War on Leaks is by far the most aggressive that I’ve seen since the Nixon administration,”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“Your tax dollars are paying the salary of an ATF manager who’s using taxpayer time and resources to direct his teams of taxpayer-supported public affairs officials to “push” propaganda in order to drown out an important, truthful story of public interest.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“A single billion is a pretty big number, let alone three. One billion minutes ago the Roman Empire was dominating the earth. One billion hours ago, we were in the Stone Age.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“Emanuel barks back as we continue rolling the camera for editing shots. “I’m fully medicated!”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“Some of them have forgotten. They think they personally own your tax dollars.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“of congressional appearances since the Fast and Furious scandal”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“If a corporate environmental disaster had occurred under a Republican administration, the lines would be clear. Democrats and most in the media would fault Republicans and their hostility toward the environment, aversion to regulation, and cozy relationship with industry. But under a new, popular, African-American, Democratic president, few are as eager to point fingers.”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“corruption between lobbyists’ dollars and political favoritism, is slowly but surely becoming the norm for many news organizations as well,”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington

“follows closely, regardless of merit. So if it’s a FOX story, half the battle is already won. But the Obama administration is particularly”
― Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled: One Reporter's Fight for Truth in Obama's Washington