Thoughtful responses on television and radio (White)
July 31st, 2006 | Published in Quotes, Technology, Television
Although every experienced newspaperman and inquirer knows that the most thoughtful and responsive answers to any difficult question come after long pause, and that the longer the pause the more illuminating the thought that follows it, nonetheless the electronic media cannot bear to suffer a pause of more than five seconds; a pause of thirty seconds of dead time on air seems interminable.
–Theodore White, quoted in Daniel Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (1961), p. 43