Daily Inspiration Quote by Brit Hume

Brit Hume’s line slices Geraldo Rivera into a Jekyll-and-Hyde parable about American media: the earnest reporter versus the hungry performer. It lands because it doesn’t deny Rivera’s talent; it weaponizes it. By granting Rivera “remarkable work,” Hume buys credibility, then pivots to the harsher claim that television turned that skill into appetite management. The compliment is the scalpel that makes the cut feel fair.

The phrasing “did what it took” is doing the real work here. It’s a polite euphemism with an unpolite implication: not just chasing ratings, but consenting to the bargain TV offers - sensation over substance, volume over verification. Hume never has to list the alleged sins (hype, self-mythology, theatrics) because the audience already has a mental highlight reel. The line counts on a shared cultural memory of Rivera as both investigative journalist and ratings-era ringmaster.

Contextually, it’s also a bit of press corps boundary enforcement. Hume is marking a professional distinction that journalists have long policed: reporting as a public service versus hosting as a business model. That division is shaky in practice - many “serious” outlets learned the same audience tricks - but the quote works by pretending the border is clear, then using Rivera as Exhibit A. The subtext is a warning about what happens when notoriety becomes a job requirement: the person splits, and the audience rewards the louder half.