"I always thought writing was the foundation and the basis for journalism in the same way being able to draw is the foundation for art"
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Schieffer is quietly scolding a profession that keeps trying to outgrow its own skeleton. By likening writing to drawing, he picks the most basic, unglamorous skill in the room and insists it’s non-negotiable. Not “voice,” not “platform,” not “content strategy” - craft. Drawing is what you do before you earn the right to abstract; writing is what you do before you chase the adrenaline of breaking news or the prestige of a byline. The analogy is blunt on purpose: you can debate styles, tools, and schools, but you can’t credibly argue that an artist doesn’t need line, proportion, and control.
The subtext is a defense of legibility at a moment when journalism often rewards speed and spectacle. Schieffer came up in an era when broadcast credibility depended on scripts that sounded effortless but were ruthlessly edited. That background matters: TV journalism is frequently dismissed as personality-driven, yet he’s pointing to the invisible labor underneath the performance. The anchor’s authority, he implies, is built sentence by sentence, not camera by camera.
There’s also a quiet warning to newer workflows: templates, AI copy, bullet-point “explainer” culture, even the social-first impulse can mimic journalism’s shape without its discipline. You can assemble facts and still fail the reader if you can’t write with precision, rhythm, and restraint. In Schieffer’s framing, writing isn’t decoration; it’s the tool that keeps reporting from collapsing into noise.
The subtext is a defense of legibility at a moment when journalism often rewards speed and spectacle. Schieffer came up in an era when broadcast credibility depended on scripts that sounded effortless but were ruthlessly edited. That background matters: TV journalism is frequently dismissed as personality-driven, yet he’s pointing to the invisible labor underneath the performance. The anchor’s authority, he implies, is built sentence by sentence, not camera by camera.
There’s also a quiet warning to newer workflows: templates, AI copy, bullet-point “explainer” culture, even the social-first impulse can mimic journalism’s shape without its discipline. You can assemble facts and still fail the reader if you can’t write with precision, rhythm, and restraint. In Schieffer’s framing, writing isn’t decoration; it’s the tool that keeps reporting from collapsing into noise.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
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