I know of no American who starts from a higher level of aspiration than the journalist.... He plans to be both an artist and a moralist — a master of lovely words and merchant of sound ideas. He ends, commonly, as the most depressing jackass of his community — that is, if his career goes on to what is called a success.

A gang of pecksniffs: and other comments on newspaper publishers, editors and reporters (ed. Crown, 1975)