Television is democracy at its ugliest.

Howard Beale is processed, instant God, and right now it looks like he might just go over bigger than Mary Tyler Moore.

I don't know what's good, or bad, or true. I let God worry about truth. I just want to know the momentary fact of things. Life isn't good, or bad, or true. It's merely factual. It's sensual. It's alive!

Ma, sooner or later there comes a point in a man's life when he's gotta face some facts. And one fact I've got to face is whateverit is women like, I ain't got it.

Television is not the truth. Television is a goddamned amusement park.

Stop thinking about writing as art. Think of it as work. If you’re an artist, whatever you do is going to be art. If you’re not an artist, at least you can do a good day’s work.

The best thing that can happen is for the theme to be nice and clear from the beginning.