European wisdom ignored again!
Back in August, a group of "prominent Europeans", as they were titled, including Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, German Nobel literature laureate Günter Grass, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy and British TV journalist Kate Adie signed a petition urging US courts to release New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who had been detained since 6 July. In the words of the petitioners, she "was just doing her job as a journalist". Read all about it: "European personalities call for release of Judith Miller".
Oddly enough, Greg Mitchell, writing in the highly-respected Editor & Publisher ("America's Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry"), had this to say recently about the very same Judith Miller:
"As the devastating Times article, and her own first-person account, make clear, Miller should be promptly dismissed for crimes against journalism — and her own paper. And her editor, who has not taken responsibility, should apologize to readers."
Wow! We've got a bit of a disconnect going here. On one side of the Atlantic, there are "prominent Europeans" regarding Ms Miller as a modern-day Joan of Arc being press ganged by an authoritarian state and on the other side, a respected voice of the industry is calling her some kind of heretic. In light of Friday's very self-critical memo from NYT executive editor Bill Keller, it would appear that Ms Miller is not as saintly as her defenders would have us believe. So, while we're waiting for the dust to settle, let's have some fun parsing that prominent Euro statement of August:
We have always admired the United States for the freedom enjoyed by its press. A press that — under all circumstances — has informed, levied blame, and could make presidents tremble, or even topple them from power. [Rainy Day reading: Although we don't go to church much in Europe anymore, we're on our knees every night praying for a toppling in Washington, if you get our drift.]We were therefore dismayed by the news that Judith Miller, a journalist with the New York Times, had been thrown in jail on the grounds that she had refused to reveal her information sources to the court. [Rainy Day reading: Of course "thrown in jail" does suggest dawn raids and brutal subjugation, but we don't feel that we're being too emotional here. We're "personalities", after all.]
At a time when the most extremist ideas are gaining ground, and when growing numbers of reporters are being killed or taken hostage, arresting a journalist in a democratic country is more than a crime: it's a miscarriage of justice. [Rainy Day reading: We don't mean that should be one law for the commoners and none for the Fourth Estate, even if that's what we're saying.]
After this, how can we demand that other countries in the world respect freedom of expression and information — one of the pillars of democracy? [Rainy Day reading: Here's a chance for us to insert our oft-repeated mantra that we were utterly opposed to the illegal, unilateral war against the internationally-recognized government of... Zzzzzzzz.]
In the name of our common values, we urge the American judicial system to reconsider its decision concerning Judith Miller, who was merely performing her duties as a journalist." [: Rainy Day reading: Although we don't have the facts of this complicated case, we know in our sophisticated hearts that the New York Times does not err. Amen.]
Among the prominent signatories were: Sabine Christiansen (TV journalist, Germany), Dr. Rotraud Perner (writer, psychotherapist, Austria), Gianni Vattimo (philosopher and writer, Italy), Wim Wenders (film director, Germany), Soledad Gallego-Díaz (assistant editor, El País, Spain), Christine Ockrent (journalist France 3 TV), Jean-Jacques Roth (editor-in-chief, Le Temps, Switzerland), Yvon Toussaint (former editor-in-chief of Le Soir)... Meanwhile, Mickey Kaus is burrowing deeper and deeper into the scandal. Makes for eye-popping reading. He's just doing his job as a journalist. Only a matter of time now before he's thrown in jail.
Comments
didn't a recent survey rate ireland as top for press freedom and america about 22th
Posted by: simon | October 25, 2005 12:24 AM
Sure, 'tis a great little country entirelay. Our press is soooo free. But it's free to lie just as much as its free to tell the truth. What about this from yesterday?
"The Editor of the Sunday Independent has issued an unreserved apology to the family of Liam Lawlor for the report in yesterday's Sunday Independent on the circumstances of his death."
"Aengus Fanning said he takes full responsibility for the inaccurate report that a female passenger in the car was a teenager and 'likely to be a prostitute'."
"The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has criticised the reporting on Mr Lawlor's death in some parts of the media. He said whenever there was a 'race to the bottom' it caused problems.
Speaking in Dublin, Mr Ahern said journalists had a job to do, but that things were written which should not have been."
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1024/
lawlorl.html
Posted by: Helen O'Gorman | October 25, 2005 6:59 AM