On Journalism

Bill Moyers' Remarks on the Occasion of the 5th Annual Ron Ridenhour Prizes

Thank you very much, Sissy Farenthold, for those very generous words, spoken like one Texan to another -- extravagantly. Thank you for the spirit of kinship. I could swear that I sensed our good Molly Ivins standing there beside you.

I am as surprised to be here as I am grateful. I never thought of myself as courageous, and still don't. Ron Ridenhour was courageous. To get the story out, he had to defy the whole might and power of the United States government, including its war machine. I was then publisher of Newsday, having left the White House some two years earlier. Our editor Bill McIlwain played the My Lai story big, as he should, much to the chagrin of the owner who couldn't believe Americans were capable of such atrocities. Our readers couldn't believe it either. Some of them picketed outside my office for days, their signs accusing the paper of being anti-American for publishing repugnant news about our troops. Some things never change.

A few years later, I gave the commencement at a nearby university, and when I finished the speech, a woman who had just been graduated came up to me and said, "Mr. Moyers, you've been in both government and journalism; that makes everything you say twice as hard to believe." She was on to something.

After my government experience, it took me a while to get my footing back in journalism. I had to learn all over again that what is important for the journalist is not how close you are to power, but how close you are to reality. Over the last 40 years, I would find that reality in assignment after assignment, from covering famine in Africa and war in Central America to inner-city families trapped in urban ghettos and middle-class families struggling to survive in an era of downsizing across the heartland. I also had to learn one of journalism's basic lessons. The job of trying to tell the truth about people whose job it is to hide the truth is almost as complicated and difficult as trying to hide it in the first place. We journalists are, of course, obliged to cover the news, but our deeper mission is to uncover the news that powerful people would prefer to keep hidden.

Unless you are willing to fight and re-fight the same battles until you go blue in the face, drive the people you work with nuts going over every last detail to make certain you've got it right, and then take all of the slings and arrows directed at you by the powers that be -- corporate and political and sometimes journalistic -- there is no use even trying. You have to love it and I do. I.F. Stone once said, after years of catching the government's lies and contradictions, "I have so much fun, I ought to be arrested." Journalism 101.

So it wasn't courage I counted on; it was exhilaration and good luck. When the road forked, I somehow stumbled into the right path, thanks to mentors like Eric Sevareid, Fred Friendly, Walter Cronkite and scores of producers, researchers and editors who lifted me to see further than one can see unless one is standing on the shoulders of others.

The quintessential lesson of my life came from another Texan named John Henry Faulk. He was a graduate, as am I, of the University of Texas. He served in the Merchant Marines, the American Red Cross, and the U.S. Army during World War II, and came home to become a celebrated raconteur and popular national radio host whose career was shattered when right-wingers inspired by Joseph McCarthy smeared him as a communist. He lost his sponsors and was fired. But he fought back with a lawsuit that lasted five years and cost him every penny he owned. Financial help from Edward R. Murrow and a few others helped him to hang on. In the end, John Henry Faulk won, and his courage helped to end the Hollywood era of blacklisting. You should read his book, Fear on Trial, and see the movie starring George C. Scott. John Henry's courage was contagious.

Before his death I produced a documentary about him, and during our interview he told me the story of how he and his friend, Boots Cooper, were playing in the chicken house there in central Texas when they were about 12 years old. They spotted a chicken snake in the top tier of the nest, so close it looked like a boa constrictor. As John Henry told it, "All of our frontier courage drained out of our heels. Actually, it trickled down our overall legs. And Boots and I made a new door through the hen house." His momma came out to see what all of the fuss was about, and she said to Boots and John Henry, "Don't you know chicken snakes are harmless? They can't hurt you." Rubbing his forehead and his behind at the same time, Boots said, "Yes, Mrs. Faulk, I know, but they can scare you so bad you'll hurt yourself."

John Henry Faulk never forgot that lesson. I'm always ashamed when I do. Temptation to co-option is the original sin of journalism, and we're always finding fig leaves to cover it: economics, ideology, awe of authority, secrecy, the claims of empire. In the buildup to the invasion of Iraq we were reminded of what the late great reporter A.J. Liebling meant when he said the press is "the weak slat under the bed of democracy." The slat broke after the invasion and some strange bedfellows fell to the floor: establishment journalists, neo-con polemicists, beltway pundits, right-wing warmongers flying the skull and bones of the "balanced and fair brigade," administration flacks whose classified leaks were manufactured lies - all romping on the same mattress in the foreplay to disaster.

Five years, thousands of casualties, and hundreds of billion dollars later, most of the media co-conspirators caught in flagrante delicto are still prominent, still celebrated, and still holding forth with no more contrition than a weathercaster who made a wrong prediction as to the next day's temperature. The biblical injunction, "Go and sin no more," is the one we most frequently forget in the press. Collectively, we don't seem to learn that all it takes to transform an ordinary politician and a braying ass into the modern incarnation of Zeus and the oracle of Delphi is an oath on the Bible, a flag in the lapel, and the invocation of national security.

There are, fortunately, always exceptions to whatever our latest dismal collective performance yields. America produces some world-class journalism, including coverage of the Iraq War by men and women as brave as Ernie Pyle. But I still wish we had a professional Hippocratic Oath of our own that might stir us in the night when we stray from our mission. And yes, I believe journalism has a mission.

Walter Lippman was prescient on this long before most of you were born. Lippman, who became the ultimate Washington insider - someone to whom I regularly leaked - acknowledged that while the press may be a weak reed to lean on, it is the indispensable support for freedom. He wrote, "The present crisis of Western democracy is a crisis of journalism. Everywhere men and women are conscious that somehow they must deal with questions more intricate than any that church or school had prepared them to understand. Increasingly, they know that they cannot understand them if the facts are not quickly and steadily available. All the sharpest critics of democracy have alleged is true if there is no steady supply of trustworthy and relevant news. Incompetence and aimlessness, corruption and disloyalty, panic and ultimate disaster must come to any people denied an assured access to the facts."

So for all the blunders for which we are culpable; for all the disillusionment that has set in among journalists with every fresh report of job cuts and disappearing news space; for all the barons and buccaneers turning the press into a karaoke of power; for all the desecration visited on broadcast journalism by the corporate networks; for all the nonsense to which so many aspiring young journalists are consigned; and for all the fears about the eroding quality of the craft, I still answer emphatically when young people ask me, Should I go into journalism today? Sometimes it is difficult to urge them on, especially when serious questions are being asked about how loyal our society is to the reality as well as to the idea of an independent and free press. But I almost always answer, "Yes, if you have a fire in your belly, you can still make a difference."

I remind them of how often investigative reporting has played a crucial role in making the crooked straight. I remind them how news bureaus abroad are a form of national security that can tell us what our government won't. I remind them that as America grows more diverse, it's essential to have reporters, editors, producers and writers who reflect these new rising voices and concerns. And I remind them that facts can still drive the argument and tug us in the direction of greater equality and a more democratic society. Journalism still matters.

But I also tell them there is something more important than journalism, and that is the truth. They aren't necessarily one and the same because the truth is often obscured in the news. In his new novel The Appeal, John Grisham tells us more about corporate, political and legal jihads than most newspapers or network news ever will; more about Wall Street shenanigans than all the cable business channels combined; more about Manchurian candidates than you will ever hear on the Sunday morning talk shows.

For that matter, you will learn more about who wins and who loses in the real business of politics, which is governance, from the public interest truth-tellers of Washington than you will from an established press tethered to official sources. The Government Accountability Project, POGO, the Sunlight Foundation, Citizens Against Government Waste, Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Center for Responsible Politics, the National Security Archive, CREW, the Center for Public Integrity, just to name a few - and from whistleblowers of all sorts who never went to journalism school, never flashed a press pass, and never attended a gridiron dinner.

Ron Ridenhour was not a journalist when he came upon the truth of My Lai. He was in the Army. He later became a pioneering investigative reporter and - this is the irony - had trouble making a living in a calling where truth-telling can be a liability to the bottom line. Matthew Diaz and James Scurlock, whom you honored today, are truth-tellers without a license, reminding us that the most important credential of all is a conscience that cannot be purchased or silenced.

So I tell inquisitive and inquiring young people: Journalism still makes a difference, but the truth matters more. And if you can't get to the truth through journalism, there are other ways to go.

To The Nation Institute and The Fertel Foundation, to the Ridenhour judges and to all of you, thank you again for this moment and, above all, for the courage of your own convictions.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The 5th Annual Ridenhour Prizes, sponsored by The Nation Institute and the Fertel Foundation, were awarded at a luncheon ceremony on April 3, 2008 at the Press Club in Washington, D.C. The 2008 Ridenhour Prizes were given to veteran journalist Bill Moyers (Courage Prize), author James D. Scurlock (Book Prize) and former Navy JAG officer Matthew Diaz (Prize for Truth-Telling). Named for the Vietnam era whistleblower Ron Ridenhour who exposed the truth of the My Lai massacre, the Ridenhour Prizes recognize those who have spoken out on behalf of the public interest, promoted social justice or illuminated a more just vision of society. For more complete information about The Ridenhour Prizes, as well as past and current winners, please visit nationinstitute.org and ridenhour.org.

Comments

[Mr Grey]

Mr Moyers and a few others are the exception, not the rule in our so called free press. I think Hugo Black said it best, "Paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell." That the government has failed us should come as no surprise. That the press has failed and continues to fail us is the saddest part of all.

[MarkJohnHunter]

The one problem with a Bill Moyers' interviews is that the questions are better than the answers.
Mark John Hunter

[LarryRiedman]

HOW REPORTERS BECOME LIBERAL. Defenders of the media should acknowledge that reporters inevitably acquire some degree of the liberal outlook from professional experiences. Digging out stories encourages such “liberal” habits as skepticism, seeking and verifying the full facts, acknowledging multiple viewpoints, anticipating complexity, evidence-based analysis, and recognizing “truth” in shades of gray.
Who is more skeptical about police practices than an experienced police beat reporter? Who has a more jaundiced view of military procurement than a veteran Pentagon correspondent? From ideological neutrality, their experiences likely moved them toward the conventional “liberal” views on the police or the military. Yet nearly all examinations of “liberal bias” focus on reporters’ political philosophies per se and ignore how those philosophies developed.
The liberal habits of mind that reporters develop then logically lead them to liberal positions on specific issues -- because the actual facts of most situations tend to support liberal positions! In turn, because experienced reporters have more (and more reliable) information than the public at large, they consequently tend to hold more liberal views. And that is just the way things are – not something to apologize for.
Conservatives would rather allege “bias” than discuss the facts reported. Liberal defenders of the media should quit playing their game on their court. Media critics should have to prove factual errors or distortions; liberal defenders of the media should not allow themselves to be manipulated into assuming the burden of rebutting baseless accusations of bias.

[GoodwithWood]

As opposed to the faith-based conservative view of absolutes and black & white.

Well said Larry.

GWW

[andyg]

what about dan rather memo. for bias.

[Sp8z]

Come on anyone with half a brain can see that was an obvious (albeit not elegant) setup.

[mamacat]

Today's distorters of truth call themselves Conservative, but that is just a label they have co-opted. Barry Goldwater was a conservative, but he would be banished from todays dogma driven Republican party. If Ronald Reagan could somehow come back, disguised in form, and advocate the things that he did, he would be driven out of the neo-con hi-jacked Republican party.

One has only to watch reruns of the Republican debates to see how far to the right the Republican party has gone. When asked if they would duplicate the decisions of Ronald Reagan, none of the candidates answered in the affirmative.

Time has a way of changing all things. Abraham Lincoln belonged to the precursor of today's Republican party, and few would find fault with what he did. George Bush is the leader of today's Republican party, and few would try to defend his honor or his accomplishments. Maybe in another 150 years, it will be the Democratic party that leads us into senseless foreign wars.

[Titonwan]

Bill, your bravery and honesty are a beacon of light nowadays. I'll watch and listen to you when ever you have something to say. You gave Ron Paul perhaps the most respectful interview of anyone and I respect you for doing that. History will be kind to Dr. Paul. I can't say that about most of the candidates. (with the exception of Barack Obama). Thanx Bill.

[WillBFair]

The comments are funny coming from a crowd that were not just convinced by the anti Clinton smear campaign three minutes after it started, but helped the media crowd out policy debate and adult conversation with name calling, empty smears, and nonstop negative spin.

[MrBinkster]

Bill - Always respected your earlier work - especially with Joe Campbell.
However Walter Lipmann was a spokesperson for 'The Inquiry.'
His 'Public Opinion' asserted the masses could be controlled by the press.
I don't think that he is necessary a good representative of worthy journalism in these troubling times of nearly complete failure of the MSM.

[GrainOSand]

His 'Public Opinion' asserted the masses could be controlled by the press.

Is this not what has happened and what I hope does not continue to happen?

[MrBinkster]

Unfortunately that's my point - I'm usually banned from this site. I can't talk here without being somewhat obtuse and putting a compliment at the beginning
Lipmann appears to have been an establishment shill.
Bill - and you ?

[GOP4MoreTears]

Indeed Mr. Moyers.

[Subtle]

"Five years, thousands of casualties, and hundreds of billion dollars later, most of the media co-conspirators caught in flagrante delicto are still prominent, still celebrated, and still holding forth with no more contrition than a weathercaster who made a wrong prediction as to the next day's temperature."

Nobody ever says it better than Mr. Moyers.

[2012isnear]

quote of the year

[SubparDude]

:

It is in the retelling that The Truth first gets lost.

:

[GrainOSand]

Disregard for voting machines re-programmed to steal elections. No outrage for the Federal Reserve engaging in corporate welfare while a Republican administration continuously lectures the public on the virtues of self-reliance after a Democratic administration banned welfare. News casts designed to destroy the public image of one person and promote the image of another and never actually providing any real fact or one iota of truth in the process. Spin, innuendo, outright lies spewing from the mouths of slick heads and painted faces that are nothing more than people trying to secure their daily gruel --though it be fancy and expensive gruel. A compromised life is not a life worth living. I suggest suicide to those who sale their souls in this way. This may seem harsh but the damage done to the people by such maggots is more harsh for this type of deception kills babies, spreads disease, conspires to commit murder and assists in robbing the public blind. Yet the media wants to deride Jeremiah Wright for his honest assessment. Hype laced with hypocrisy and haranguers of tainted information is what we get for turning on the news. The news is --the news is dead.

[ScooterLiddy]

Wow. You got it!

[Titonwan]

I totally concur. Good job.

[BlueAsh]

Couldn't have said better!

[MysticInd]

So eloquent. GrainOSand! What a treat to have your comments with Bill Moyers' post. Thank you.

I've watched every Journal Show and hope it never ends... didn't understand what happened to part II of the Constitution. In my area we had a storm or cable outage, I can't remember which but it seemed as if it was deliberately blacked out...

Keep writing and telling the truth both of you. Namaste!

[GrainOSand]

One who sells the masses out for the promise of fame and fortune while at the same time being aware of dark and tragic plans for the masses is someone who is less than scum on the bottom of one’s shoes. To conspire with corporate and government forces to run a complex shell game is a deed worthy not only of water-boarding but far more painful methods of inflicting pain. Yet ultimate blame for the media being successful at their deceit and money lust falls to the consuming, ignorant, distracted, scared, and lazy public.

[GrainOSand]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

What a novel idea, to place no restrictions on dissent. In practice Congress did not have to make any laws. In fact corporations have done an end-around on the constitution’s guarantee of a free press. From the media’s collusion in selling the war in Iraq --some by their silence, some by their planted stories --to the media’s disregard for a large amount of other facts suggesting this country is under siege from within and from outside sources, as an average citizen I am left with no recourse but to distrust the major news organizations. I believe they lie for profit and to frame whatever message their masters want. It seems that the fields of journalism and marketing have merged to create a hybrid entity that consciously misinforms, disengages from the truth, and seeks to assault the psychology of a viewing and consuming public with subliminal and not so subliminal messaging. Far too many of the journalists, anchors, reporters, editors, producers, and so forth involved in bringing the news to the people are traitors in my mind and should be shot at dawn.

[OleHippieChick]

Little Eichmanns, one and all.

[GrainOSand]

I do not want to minimize this to an ethnic thing. Many ethnicities are complicit in what Hillary called "The vast conspiracy". I eliminate phrase Right Wing though because people are guilty of being MIA across party lines.

Right and wrong in my limited world has not ethnicity, race, gender, color, party or any other distinguishing characteristic other than right and wrong. I know right by its compliment of wrong and visa-versa. I seek to do right not be right and therefore I am safe from being self righteous which is another form of evil sometimes called arrogance unchecked through honest self analysis and examination.

[GrainOSand]

If you ever need a reminder of what a true American patriot looks like and what such a person does to confirm/identify their patriotism, look no further than Bill Moyers. Many of the other jornalists (both in print and on TV) are mere ants scrounging for food beside this giant of a man searching for truth to tell and lies to dispel.

Thank you Bill Moyers as a simple man I am inspired by your greatness.

[MadeinAmericaProud]

GrainOSand, I appreciated reading all your comments and I agree. I truly more people support the Bill Moyers part of the PBS show. the other part of the shows on PBS is getting more and more corp support because not enough people care to share to keep open and free.

I thank Bill Moyers coming out of retirement. The PBS was no the same on Friday night in my area.

Here is to more people sending money for the Bill Moyers part of PBS, he is not supported by the big business money to stay a free and open press.

[GrainOSand]

In light of the failed effort to de-fund public television your point concerning public contribution cannot be highlighted enough.

Thanks for encouragement it remains difficult for one such as me to speak out.

[rextrek]

Mr Moyers...THANK YOU! I enjoy your show every Friday eveing. I have to admit..on some subjects where I have only a hint of interest..your show (makes me watch)...and I go away learning something new I did not know before.....I look forward to this upcoming episode of "Hunger in America"..I'm sure as usual it will be Informative and EYE OPENING! Thank you very much sir!

[rinpochet]

Thank you Mr. Moyers! I truly admire the work you do and catch you on PBS every Friday evening.

Reporters with courage are sadly lacking today and with corporate ownership of MSM it becomes even more difficult to get the truth. I agree with you that we can get the truth from foreign newspapers, which i do but it is so sad that the USA is a place where the truth is no longer easily available in our newspapers, on radio or TV.

BTW, congratulations on an award richly deserved!