"I like radio better than television because if you make a mistake on radio, they don't know. You can make up anything on the radio"
About this Quote
The subtext is less about lying than about improvisation. Rizzuto came from a world where personality carried the call. His charm wasn’t polished, it was conversational, full of sudden detours and emotional swerves. Radio rewards that kind of human messiness. A flub becomes texture. A half-remembered detail becomes a story. The listener is co-creating the scene anyway, filling in the stadium, the uniforms, the play at the plate. That shared imagination gives the announcer room to stretch.
Context matters: Rizzuto straddled the shift from radio’s dominance to TV’s scrutiny, when sports moved from voice-driven mythmaking to visual evidence. His comment captures the cultural trade: television offers proof but narrows the margin for tall tales and spontaneous theater. Radio lets a broadcaster be a little unreliable, a little larger than life, and somehow more intimate because of it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Rizzuto, Phil. (2026, January 15). I like radio better than television because if you make a mistake on radio, they don't know. You can make up anything on the radio. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-like-radio-better-than-television-because-if-161639/
Chicago Style
Rizzuto, Phil. "I like radio better than television because if you make a mistake on radio, they don't know. You can make up anything on the radio." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-like-radio-better-than-television-because-if-161639/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I like radio better than television because if you make a mistake on radio, they don't know. You can make up anything on the radio." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-like-radio-better-than-television-because-if-161639/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.





