Thomas Jefferson Quote 

"The man who never looks into a newspaper
is better informed than he who reads them;
inasmuch as he who knows nothing is
nearer to the truth than he whose mind
is filled with falsehoods and errors."

by:
Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President
Source:
Letter to John Novell, June 11, 1807
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mtj:@field(DOCID+@lit(tj100173))
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Reader comments about this quote:
"By beholding we become changed", Garbage in garbage out. What we put into our minds affects our worldview and the course of our lives. Those who argue TV has no effect on anyone including children should consider this quote. Read newspapers carefully, it may not contain intentional falsehood, but rumour and unsettled truth, and of course anyone can make a mistake. Most news items are part of an unfolding story and the truth does not come out until the end.
 -- Waffler, Smith, Arkansas		 
Sure, knowing falsehoods is worse than knowing nothing, but only if in your knowing nothing you are open to learning... and those who would not open a newspaper, would not seek to learn and know truths suffers from the sin of sloth, not "better informed" than those who seek knowledge... it is not the seeking that is bad, but the accepting of the false that is the downfall.
 -- Anonymous, Reston, VA US		 
I think it was Mark Twain who said, " those who do not read newspapers are uninformed, those who do are misinformed.
 -- jim k, austin		 
Oh I don't think truth comes out in the end at all in the newspapers or on the news wires. How many front page retractions do we see? On the rare occasion a correction may be hidden in the latter pages. For the most part the 'truth' is avoided unless it is a 'convenient' truth.
 -- gdg, windsor		 
Why is it that newsprint circulation has been plummeting for years? People are tired of being lied to and manipulated - I know I certainly am. The more their circulation drops the more desperate and obvious they become in their slant. I will occasionally read a local paper or NYT. I also read Pravda during the Soviet era (or even now, for that matter) and for the same reason - to have a good laugh. It is a sad day in journalism when the National Enquirer has become our most reliable news source.
 -- Ken, Allyn, WA		 
Here in NYC, we get morning editions and late editions of the NY Post with big headlines written to get you to buy it. Bad news sells best. If the headline was 'Everything Is Fine' no one would even bother reading it. Columbia University has a good site on the media -- they track the ownership of every paper, magazine, radio and TV station. There are about 10 guys who own and control them all. If you don't like the news, go out and make your own. ;-)
 -- E Archer, NYC		 
Makes one think, hmm
 -- Mike, Norwalk		 
The problem with newspapers today is that what they dispense as news is nothing more than fluff and propaganda. They are spoon feeding us nonsense to distract and blind us from the real news, and it is working very well.
 -- Ken, Milford Pa		 
 -- warren, olathe 
 -- Anonymous 
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