What could I have possibly learned except the really most important thing, which is that I did not want to work at the 'New York Times'? Beyond that, I learned how a newspaper works.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I grew up with 'The Denver Post' and the 'Golden Transcript.' There was never a moment that I thought I'd work at the 'New York Times.' My goal, starting out, was just to see if I could be a journalist.
I did not read newspapers until I became a reporter.
I became a journalist because one didn't have to specialise.
I became a journalist partly so that I wouldn't ever have to rely on the press for my information.
Journalism classes would have been interesting to me.
Probably the biggest influence on my career was the late John Hersey, who, while he was at 'The New Yorker,' wrote one of the masterpieces of narrative non-fiction, 'Hiroshima.' Hersey was a teacher of mine at Yale, and a friend. He got me to see the possibility of journalism not just as a business but as an art form.
I didn't work for any newspapers in college, never worked for any newspaper before 'The Washington Post'.
I always wanted to be some kind of writer or newspaper reporter. But after college... I did other things.
There are a lot of really good skills you get from doing journalism - it completely changed my world and how I interact with other people.
I applied for a job at 'The New York Times' many years ago, and felt correctly that my life depended on it.
No opposing quotes found.