I.F. Stone's Son on the Izzy Awards, Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald

This short speech was made by Jeremy Stone at Tuesday's inaugural ceremony of the Izzy Awards for independent media -- named after legendary journalist I.F. "Izzy" Stone. Blogger Glenn Greenwald and Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! shared the award presented by Ithaca College's Park Center for Independent Media, which I head. -Jeff Cohen

REMARKS OF JEREMY STONE: When I first heard about an award for people who most "resembled" Izzy, I had high hopes that I might finally win a prize. Unfortunately, the selection committee appears to have been concerned with behavior.

Resembling Izzy in behavioral terms does not lead to an easy life. His capacity for thinking independently, and acting on principle, isolated him from just about everyone.

In the McCarthy era, because he spoke in defense of Jeffersonian principles, people were afraid to be seen with him. When he supported the rights of Palestinians, Jewish institutions would not invite him to speak. And when the National Press Club refused to serve his black guest lunch, he quit the club, isolating himself from his colleagues.

He said he was so happy in his work that he should be "arrested." But the consequence, for him, of speaking truth to power was loneliness.

Inevitably, the reward of such a man comes late. I.F. Stone knew this. He said: "I began as a pariah and then was treated as a gadfly. If I live long enough, I will become an institution." And indeed in his lifetime, he moved on to become an icon.

Last year, Harvard's Nieman Foundation for Journalism began awarding an annual I.F Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence with a follow-on panel on strengthening this independence. So two decades after his death, he became a fulcrum for journalistic independence.

Now, following the I.F. Stone Medal of 2008, comes the Izzy Award of 2009 with different criteria but a common goal. Rest assured that I.F. Stone is rotating in his grave with pleasure over these annual awards.

Today's Izzy Award winners do have points of resemblance to I.F. Stone. Glenn Greenwald is a close reader of official documents and a principled critic of the tendency of the Executive Branch to exceed its rightful powers. He has been a fearless critic of government officials and complacent reporters. He has shown a willingness to challenge conventional pieties, including unthinking support for Israeli hardliners.

Amy Goodman career also has similarities. She speaks up for the disenfranchised and gives her audience facts they don't hear from the traditional media. She is an investigative journalist and writes often about human rights. Like I. F. Stone and his weekly, she founded a vehicle, "Democracy Now!", that takes no advertising or money from corporations or government, She confronts authority no matter how high. And she has repeatedly shown physical courage, something that I.F. Stone showed in accompanying Jewish refugees of World War II in their illegal and dangerous travel from Europe to Palestine.

I.F. Stone once said: "If the Government makes a mistake, the newspapers will find out and the problem may then be fixed. But if freedom of the press were lost, the country would soon go to pieces."

What will this crucial freedom of the press amount to in coming years in the face of so much technological change? And how to protect it? The Park Center for Independent Media's answer is to indentify role models by giving them Izzy Awards. It has made a good beginning.

In conclusion, I.F. Stone once said that he resembled nothing more than a "great Jewish bullfrog." With this in mind, I congratulate the awardees on two grounds: their prize-winning resemblance to I.F. Stone in behavioral terms and their abysmal failure to resemble him in person.

Jeremy Stone is the president of Catalytic Diplomacy. He headed the Federation of American Scientists from 1970 to 2000; his name appeared on Richard Nixon's Enemies List in 1973. He supervises the official www.IFStone.org website and is the elder son of Esther and Izzy Stone.

Comments

[larry278]

Even if IF Stone had not resigned from the National Press Club-he would have been isolated from other news writers for his reporting & prose was markedly better that the run of the mill coverage of his era. New writers have delicate egos. Mr Stone wasn't a shrinking violet either. He was more like a killer bee than a gad fly. The stench of politics is always bad. It is enought to stink a blow fly off a gut wagon on a 100 degree f day. Mr Stone found the sources of stench in politics. He was both feared & disliked. Life without Molly Ivins & IF Stone is dull. Maybe the award winners will make politics fun again. We cynics have to settle for Pro Publica & servings of acrid wit from the DAILY BEAST & HP now.

[ErniePyle]

Have you read Alexander Cochburn or Howard Zinn? Just a couple suggestions. Have any for me?

And yes, life w/o Molly Ivins is dull.

[larry278]

Yes, I read Mr C regularly. Thanks for the heads up on Mr Zinn.
Try CLG NEWS, Lori Price, the editor has a wicked streak. CLG NEWS started out as a 9/11 conspiracy site. It combs far left of center sites. Lori's asides are cutting, caustic & a joy to read. TOM DISPATCH is another progressive site. HP often posts it. Tom's prose, anger & irony are augmented by Tom posting other serious, progressive bloggers. If you enjoy the NATION, TOM DISPATCH is for you. Eric Umansky is still associated with PRO PUBLICA [I think]. Eric's blogs zing with energy. He isn't IF Stone but IF Stone might have read Eric.
As for Molly, we have our memories.

[valkyrie607]

I am thrilled that two of my favorite journalists have finally gotten the recognition they deserve.

[anachoret]

I just saw this on C-Span this AM, and thought a brief taste of why Greenwald is such a great example can be seen throughout. So, for those interested, here's a link, which I recommend.
http://cspan.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-A-17112

[ErniePyle]

Having just recently read a collection of I.F. Stone's essays, Mr. Greenwald and Mrs. Goodman are quite deserving of this honor. Congratulations to both.

[anachoret]

Fantastic choices for the recipients, and and an entertaining speech as well.

Goodman and Greenwald are both deserving of much more attention, while I.F. Stone STILL deserves a great deal more acclaim (as evidenced by the comments so far...)

Thank you for passing this along, Mr Cohen.
Congratulations to both Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald, who people should catch on Bill Moyers Journal tomorrow night (if memory serves).

[Operation2012]

Congratulations to Amy Goodman. No one more deserving. Buy her new book Standing Up to the Madness and read it today. It is uplifting and timely.