Campaign Extra!: Journalism and the killing fields of truth

Election 2004

Journalism and the killing fields of truth

When Sydney H. Schanberg talks, people need to listen. Schanberg, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for international reporting while at the New York Times, is one of the true living lions of journalism. His life-or-death reporting from Cambodia led to the movie "The Killing Fields." Back home, he has a reputation for truth-telling -- and (as a result) annoying the living hell out of his employers.

In this week's Village Voice, he takes a whack at the ills of modern political journalism and truly nails it. He writes:

We in the news business are part of a real struggle now about what kind of future this nation is to have, about whether we are to descend into toxic partisan warfare and suppression of dissent. We can't shy away from the fight out of fear of being called names, such as unpatriotic. This is no game of beanbag at recess. We have to be adversaries of imperial presidencies—responsible adversaries, loyal adversaries.

One of the reasons this nation is in such a fix now is that the mainstream press, Big Media, failed to be sufficiently aggressive or determined at the start in examining this president's rationale and premises for going to war. We have been much too compliant in serving as stenographers to the powerful.

Posted on September 28, 2004 10:36 AM

Comments

What was Mr Schanberg's position at the beginning of the war? How outspoken was he? Is there a comparison between "The Killing Fields" and Sadam's reign. Did he feel a response to terrorism and Muslem radicals(is that redundant) was warranted?

Posted by: Andy Anderson at September 28, 2004 12:37 PM

I take it Mr. Schanberg is not interviewing for a position on CSPAN.

Question: Is a journalist a simple reporter of the facts or an advocate for a point of view? Webster defines a Journalist as a writer or editor for a news medium.

Posted by: Ted at September 28, 2004 01:58 PM

Semi-unrelated but annoying is the Ashcroft's pursuit of Judith Miller's confidential sources for her Times stories. From even the most sober perspective Ashcroft is utterly out of control and is fulfilling the worst fears of those who opposed his nomination for AG.

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