At least I can shout to the world this--I'm my own midget. The mistakes will be my mistakes--the failures will have my fiat--the successes, if any or none, will not be subject to people who worry about thick lenses, long noses, or advertising agency or affiliate bias." - Meaning and context.">
Describing his frustration with his treatment by the new CBS management (1962), The Murrow Boys: Pioneers on the Front Lines of Broadcast by Stanley Cloud and Lynne Olson.
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At least I can shout to the world this--I'm my own midget. The mistakes will be my mistakes--the failures will have my fiat--the successes, if any or none, will not be subject to people who worry about thick lenses, long noses, or advertising agency or affiliate bias.

— Bill Downs

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "At least I can shout to the world this--I'm my own midget. The mistakes will be my mistakes--the failures will have my fiat--the successes, if any or none, will not be subject to people who worry about thick lenses, long noses, or advertising agency or affiliate bias." in the context of "Describing his frustration with his treatment by the new CBS management (1962), The Murrow Boys: Pioneers on the Front Lines of Broadcast by Stanley Cloud and Lynne Olson." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Bill Downs" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bill Downs

About Bill Downs

William Randall Downs, Jr. (August 17, 1914 – May 3, 1978) was a Kansas City-born American broadcast journalist for CBS Radio and later ABC. He was best known for his work with Edward R. Murrow and was one of the original Murrow Boys.