There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn't mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing.
Christiane AmanpourBut 17 years ago, I arrived at CNN with a suitcase, with my bicycle, and with about 100 dollars.
Christiane AmanpourMostly, as I said, a desire to do a bit of good, and the quaint notion that this is what we signed up for, this is the business that we have chosen.
Christiane AmanpourSome people accused me of being pro-Muslim in Bosnia, but I realised that our job is to give all sides an equal hearing, but in cases of genocide you can't just be neutral. You can't just say, 'Well, this little boy was shot in the head and killed in besieged Sarajevo and that guy over there did it, but maybe he was upset because he had an argument with his wife.' No, there is no equality there, and we had to tell the truth.
Christiane AmanpourI do believe that is a template that I stick very strongly to to tell the truth in an increasing swelter of lies and misinformation and disinformation.
Christiane AmanpourIm not an American but I have always had the outsiders respect for the American people and the American way.
Christiane AmanpourI strongly believe that journalism is one of the most noble professions, because without an informed world, and without an informed society, we are weak, we are weak.
Christiane AmanpourI have made my living bearing witness to some of the most horrific events of the end of our century, at the end of the 20th century.
Christiane AmanpourAnd one thing that I always believed and that I knew for certain was that I could never have sustained a personal relationship while I worked this hard, or while I was that driven this intensely by the story.
Christiane AmanpourWe were thrilled and we were privileged to be part of a revolution, because make no mistake about it, Ted Turner changed the world with CNN.
Christiane AmanpourObjectivity means trying to give all sides a hearing. It does not, in my view, mean treating all sides as equal.
Christiane AmanpourOur industry has invested so much money in technology that perhaps it's time to invest in talent, in people.
Christiane AmanpourBut to be self-obsessed is simply not o.k. for the most important country in the world, the United States, which affects every other country in the world.
Christiane AmanpourIf we have no respect for our viewers, then how can we have any respect for ourselves and what we do?
Christiane AmanpourWe turn now over the debate of the proposed Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero....The controversy has raised profound questions about religious tolerance and prejudice in the United States.
Christiane AmanpourFor instance, why are we terrorizing this country, leading with murder and mayhem, when crime is actually on the decline, as somebody, as somebody mentioned?
Christiane AmanpourIndeed in the full flush of journalistic passion and conviction I once told an interviewer that of course I would never get married. And I most definitely would never have children.
Christiane AmanpourAnd then theres always the crying and the weeping that we hear-children, women, even men. And these images and these sounds are always with me.
Christiane AmanpourI have always thought it morally unacceptable to kill stories, not to run stories, that people have risked their lives to get.
Christiane AmanpourU.S. soldiers, with whom I now have more than a passing acquaintance, joke that they track my movements in order to know where they will be deployed next.
Christiane AmanpourBecause I am foreign I was assigned to the foreign desk. I kid you not, its true.
Christiane AmanpourIn Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.
Christiane AmanpourI'm thrilled to be joining the incredible team at ABC News. Being asked to anchor 'This Week' and the superb tradition started by David Brinkley, is a tremendous and rare honor, and I look forward to discussing the great domestic and international issues of the day.
Christiane AmanpourAnd I believe that good journalism, good television, can make our world a better place.
Christiane AmanpourMy view is that when lies become mixed up with the truth, it's a very dangerous world.
Christiane AmanpourIn emerging democracies like Russia, in authoritarian states like Iran or even Yugoslavia, journalists play a vital role in civil society. In fact, they form the very basis of those new democracies and civil societies.
Christiane AmanpourIn Iran the whole reform and democracy movement has been based on the emerging free press.
Christiane AmanpourWhat Americans don't care much about is the piffle we put on TV these days, what they don't care about is boring, irrelevant, badly told stories, and what they really hate is the presumption that they're too stupid to know the difference.
Christiane AmanpourI was really just the tea boy to begin with, or the equivalent thereof, but I quickly announced, innocently but very ambitiously, that I wanted to be, I was going to be, a foreign correspondent.
Christiane AmanpourHere in the United States, our profession is much maligned, people simply don't trust or like journalists anymore and that's sad.
Christiane AmanpourI leave CNN with the utmost respect, love and admiration for the company and everyone who works here. This has been my family and shared endeavor for the past 27 years, and I am forever grateful and proud of all that we have accomplished.
Christiane AmanpourObjectivity doesn't mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing.
Christiane Amanpour