Memorable Quotes from Leonie Benesch
5 quotesGermany's Failure and Innocent Lives Lost
Geoffrey Mason
Are you alright?
Marianne Gebhardt
No... Innocent people died in Germany again. We failed. Germany failed.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Safety versus Image in Olympic Security Debate
Marianne Gebhardt
Someone's asking the chief of police if he thinks it was a mistake that the Olympic Village had no armed police.
[translating interview on the radio]
Jacques Lesgards
Of course it was!
Marianne Gebhardt
I guess they didn't want the world to be reminded of the last time armed Germans patrolled fences.
[pause]
Jacques Lesgards
So, Germany's makeover is more important than people's safety?
Marvin Bader
C'mon. This isn't our business. That is our business, and in less than an hour, we go live.
[points at TV screens]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Media Sensitivity in Reporting on Conflict
Peter Jennings
Whatever conception you have of Arabia or Arabs, you need to understand how sensitive this situation is. This is no longer the Olympics.
[over the phone]
Marvin Bader
Thank you, Peter, for, uh, clarifying. It does bring up a good question. What should we call them on the air?
Peter Jennings
In News, we would refer to them as commando guerrillas.
Roone Arledge
Commando? That sounds like we're in Vietnam or something.
Geoffrey Mason
What was it they called them in German radio?
Marianne Gebhardt
Terrorists.
Roone Arledge
What was that?
Marianne Gebhardt
They used "terrorists.
Roone Arledge
Okay. Let's... let's go with that.
Peter Jennings
That's a charged term. Terrorism is the organized and systematic use of violence against civilians to affect a political goal.
Marvin Bader
Isn't that pretty much what's happening here?
Peter Jennings
Nobody knows yet what is happening here. So we have to be very careful about everything we say on air.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Crisis Management Amidst Uncertainty and Overwhelm
Marvin Bader
Then they should have cut the electricity to the apartment! It's not up to us to double-check on them.
[about the terrorists having access to the ABC coverage]
Geoffrey Mason
That... Marv, it's not okay if we made it worse. You know that.
Marvin Bader
We don't even know why they called it off. The Germans seem generally pretty overwhelmed.
Marianne Gebhardt
They are. I'm listening to the police radio; it's local cops doing things they have never done before. The German Army gave them sniper rifles and had to instruct them on how to use them.
Geoffrey Mason
Why doesn't the German Army just do it itself?
Marianne Gebhardt
They're not allowed to operate here. German Constitution.
Geoffrey Mason
That's ridiculous!
Marvin Bader
The rumor is Israel offered to send a special unit to help them out, and that Germany refused it.
Marianne Gebhardt
They are just making one mistake after another and trying to act like they've got it all under control.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Generational Differences in Understanding and Awareness
Marvin Bader
Are your parents still around?
Marianne Gebhardt
Yes.
Marvin Bader
Let me guess. They didn't know either, right?
Marianne Gebhardt
I'm not them.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.