Katharine Graham, née Meyer / 1917–20011 / New York, New York, USA / Newspaper Publisher, Memoirist
Capitalism
I believed—and believe—that capitalism works best for a freedom-loving society, that it brings more prosperity to more people than any other social-economic system, but that somehow we have to take care of people.
Source unknown.
Competitiveness
To be competitive, you have to be pretty ruthless.
Interview, cited in Sue Ellen Moncrief, “The Last Publisher,” New York Times Magazine, March 18, 1973.
Democracy
The greatest threat to democracy is the notion that it has already been achieved.
Source unknown.
There are some things the general public does not need to know and shouldn’t. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets, and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows.
Source unknown.
Graham on Graham
One of my principal childhood memories is hearing one of the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies waft throughout the house.
Source unknown.
Those first few years of marriage, before the war interrupted all our lives, Phil and I had a very happy time. I grew up considerably, mostly thanks to him.
Source unknown.
Mistakes
A mistake is simply another way of doing things.
Interview, cited in William Safire, “The Power of the Press,” New York Times Magazine, October 17, 1971.
The only way to guarantee you won’t make a mistake is not to do anything. And that leads you to make mistakes out of omission rather than commission.
Interview, cited in William Safire, “The Power of the Press,” New York Times Magazine, October 17, 1971.
Motivation
People are motivated by the desire to make a difference, to make a mark. Otherwise, why wake up in the morning?
Personal History: A Memoir (1997).
News
News is what someone wants suppressed. Everything else is advertising.
Source unknown.
The Press
Family ownership provides the independence that is sometimes required to withstand governmental pressure and preserve freedom of the press.
Source unknown.
The press these days should be rather careful about its role. We may have acquired some tendencies about over-involvement that we had better overcome.
Source unknown.
Truthfulness
To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.
Commencement address, Stanford University, June 17, 1984.
Washington
One doesn’t soon forget the natural beauty of Washington, although those of us who live here do sometimes take it for granted.
Source unknown.
Watergate
If we had failed to pursue the facts as far as they led, we would have denied the public any knowledge of an unprecedented scheme of political surveillance and sabotage.
Source unknown.
Women
The thing women must do to rise to power is to redefine their femininity. Once, power was considered a masculine attribute. In fact, power has no sex.
Source unknown.
So few grown women like their lives.
Source unknown.
Work
To love what you do and feel that it matters—how could anything be more fun?
Personal History: A Memoir (1997).