American Idol, I love. I think it`s a passing fancy but not passing so soon.

I get involved in the beginning, less in the middle, and very much at the end.

I don`t think it`s about entertainment. I think it`s about being ourselves.

The most fun is getting paid to learn things.

I love the early process of asking questions about a story and deciding which questions matter most.

I have a contract but it`s not a commitment in the ordinary sense. It`s our ongoing conversation.

Start in a small TV station so you can make all of your embarrassing mistakes early and in front of fewer people!

I don`t know why I`m saying I`m brave.

Every time somebody tries to go in and reinvent what we do, it always ends up being more about technology and sets, and flash and dash, forgetting the main thing, which is interesting people saying interesting, important things.

Follow what you are genuinely passionate about and let that guide you to your destination.

Hope changes everything, doesn`t it?

The interesting thing is always to see if you can find a fact that will change your mind about something, to test and see if you can.

I`m not sure people are ever completely comfortable telling pollsters what they do and don`t think.

We did exactly what everybody in the country did, watching it. You entered this state of sort of denials. You think, well, it must have been a tragic accident by an amateur pilot. And then you see the next plane coming.

I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention.

People assume you can`t be shy and be on television. They`re wrong.

Part of this new world of completely improvisational terrorism is that there were codes of war that disintegrated in the face of terrorism.

An investigation may take six months. A quick interview, profile, a day.

I have a liberal definition of news because I think news can be what excites people. I`m not very sanctimonious about what news is and isn`t.

Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have an equal right to it.

If you`re curious, you`ll probably be a good journalist because we follow our curiosity like cats.

I`m always fascinated by the way memory diffuses fact.

The one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention.

I like talking. I didn`t know at the time I would have to worry so much about my hair.

Great questions make great reporting.

People tend to vote the present tense - not the subjective.