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Advertisements are of great use to the vulgar. First of all, as they are instruments of ambition. A man that is by no means big enough for the Gazette, may easily creep into the advertisements; by which means we often see an apothecary in the same paper of news with a plenipotentiary, or a running footman with an ambassador.

— Joseph Addison The Tatler (1711)

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Journalism

More quotes by Joseph Addison

Keep up the loud harmonious song,
And imitate the blest above,
In joy, and harmony, and love.

Song for St. Cecilia's Day (1692)

If we may believe our logicians, man is distinguished from all other creatures by the faculty of laughter.

The Spectator (1711)

'Tis not in mortals to command success,
But we'll do more, Sempronius; we'll deserve it.

Cato, A Tragedy (1713)

We are growing serious, and,
Let me tell you, that's the very next step to being dull.

The Drummer (1716)

Thus I live in the world rather as a spectator of mankind than as one of the species.

The Spectator (1711)

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To be completely cured of newspapers, spend a year reading the previous week’s newspapers.

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Journalists who make mistakes get sued for libel; historians who make mistakes get to publish a revised edition.

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In a world where everyone is a publisher, no one is an editor and that is the danger we face today.

Scott Pelley

Every newspaper editor owes tribute to the devil.

Jean de La Fontaine Lettre à Simon de Troyes (1686)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Joseph Addison (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.