As society evolves, so too does the way that we communicate with each other. The spreading of information and ideas is constantly evolving. What began as face-to-face interaction about basic necessities has become a massive supply of data granting access to what is happening around the world. No longer are we concerned with just ourselves; our focus falls to celebrities, political figures, and even victims of oppression. Journalism is the bridge that connects us to the the information that inspires and provokes ourselves and our communities.

Here are eight assertions of journalism by those who have dedicated their lives to bridging the gap:

Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.

— Henry Anatole Grunwald

A news story should be like a mini skirt on a pretty woman. Long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting.

— Anonymous, linked to a Texas newspaper editor

A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.

— Arthur Miller

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.

— Voltaire

I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.

— Tom Stoppard

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.

— Christopher Morley

I became a journalist to come as close as possible to the heart of the world.

— Henry Luce

In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.

— Eric Hoffer, on the intersection of technology and journalism