Quote

The biggest problem in rock journalism is that often the writer's main motivation is to become friends with the band. They're not really journalists; they're people who want to be involved in rock and roll.

Journalism is a kind of profession, or craft, or racket, for people who never wanted to grow up and go out into the real world.

I came over here and worked for rock magazines, and I worked for Rolling Stone, which has a very high standard of journalism, a very good research department.

I can't think of any other job in journalism where the newsmakers come to you.

Journalism: an ability to meet the challenge of filling the space.

I'm always very careful to make the distinction between music criticism and music journalism. A lot of people don't. But criticism doesn't require reporting. You can write criticism at home in your underwear. On the other hand, journalism takes legwork - you have to get out there and see things and talk to people.

The difference between literature and journalism is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read.

Journalism is not just a cause, it's also a wacky profession.

The dirty little secret of journalism is that it really isn't a profession, it's a craft. All you need is a telephone and a conscience and you're all set.

Rock and roll stars have it much better than writers when they're on a tour.