"Rereading A.J. Liebling carries me happily back to an age when all good journalists knew they had plenty to be modest about, and were."

Life

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on life by Russell Baker resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in life is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Russell Baker

Russell Wayne Baker was an American journalist, narrator, writer of Pulitzer Prize-winning satirical commentary and self-critical prose, and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography Growing Up (1982). He was a columnist for The New York Times for 36 years, and hosted eleven seasons of the PBS show Masterpiece Theatre. The Forbes Media Guide Five Hundred, 1994 stated: "Baker, thanks to his singular gift of treating serious, even tragic events and trends with gentle humor, has become an American institution."

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Russell Baker

"There is a growing literature about the multitude of journalism's problems, but most of it is concerned with the editorial side of the business, possibly because most people competent to write about journalism are not comfortable writing about finance."

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"You can always tell folks from nonfolks. Folks like to feel good, like to smile for the camera when there's a big photo opportunity for a really good cause."

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More about Life

"The test of character in leadership is how one behaves in moments of unvarnished power. Such is the immutable nature of understanding — an essential principle for the reflective life."

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