Silence

The dumbest question on earth turned out to be the only pertinent one.

I was sitting at the anchor desk in San Francisco when President Bush delivered the State of the Union of 2003. We all expected an update on Afghanistan and instead the president pulled the now famous bait and switch. Magically, with no Democratic consensus, Osama became Saddam, and Afghanistan became Iraq. As the president was speaking, I called out to the camera people and the floor director in the studio. "I don't believe this, are you guys listening to this? Bush is preparing to go to war on another front without congressional approval." The president likened Saddam to Hitler and said Iraq had nuclear (Nuke-you-lure) weapons, biological weapons and chemical weapons. He used his 86 percent approval rating at the time to buy silence from the press and here's how that occurred in my life.

A camera person laughed and said, "Les, Bubba is about to rally the nation to another war. Wasn't Saddam Bubba Sr.'s nemesis?" The lights are bright, but I looked out into the dark studio and said, "Jesus, we have to say something. We can't just blithely sit here and pretend this is not worth discussing. The president is using 9/11 fear to start another war." The member of the Texas-Oil- Silver- Sperm- society is about to connect 9/11 to getting the oil fields and the enemy his father couldn't."

I waited, fearful that reporters from Washington would not speak up. I was fearful I would have to be the one to bring it up. Fearful that the new administration in our Fox affiliate would expect us to shut up and pretend we did not hear. I would later find out that's exactly what was expected of me. It was a new role for a loud-mouth girl from Texas, and one I did not know how to play.

Just a few years earlier, questioning power and asking fearless questions had earned our newscast the award of "Best Broadcast in the Nation," by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. PBS announced how rare we were and showed my picture. But, the good ole' boys in charge now did not really understand any of that. Now, in this fearful post 9/11 world, the new managers talked about Christianity, stared down those who cursed in the newsroom, and fired people so heartlessly they made them attend their own "goodbye parties" to save face. The other reporters had to watch this deceitful dance and were stricken with fear and loathed to speak up. I suppose that was the point. The world felt as if it was upside down, and I was now working for the "flat earth society."

When the president finally ended his speech, there was a recap by the reporters. It was stenographic in nature. There was no analysis, and no indication that another illegal war had been declared. I then opened my mouth. What I said next began the unraveling of a spotless 25 years of reporting.

"I did not hear any mention of the current war in Afghanistan or Osama Bin Laden." I said, hoping to prompt the seasoned reporter to point out the obvious and open discussion. Instead, he simply said, "That's right Leslie, the president did not mention Osama or Afghanistan." I sat there stunned.

As I left the studio, I was relieved to see that CNN was discussing the bait and switch that had just occurred. I left feeling a sense of dread. I found out the next day when I got to work, the feeling was justified.

As soon as I sat down at my desk the phone rang. The boss wanted to see me. This was the same boss who told me earlier not to make comments about global warming because he and the other bosses did not believe in it. I replied "As soon as the corporation figures a way to make money from global warming, they'll lead the charge against it." I am nothing if not a smart ass. I have since learned to suffer fools and pick my battles more carefully. But until then, I had never been censored in any way. Not on the air, and certainly not in the newsroom.

I walked toward the boss' office knowing the new ultra-conservative regime did not know my history as a reporter, and they did not care. I doubt any of them had read my resume. Controversy is the essence of news and they wanted no controversy. It cost them commercials.

"Hello, boss," I said. He got right to the point. "Never ask a question like that again. I've been fielding phone calls all day about it. Viewers felt it was unpatriotic."

So now, after 25 years of reporting from around the world, I was expected to be a stenographer. Again, I was a smart ass. "So, I said, perhaps we should change our promos from in-depth-coverage to See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil." He was pissed. He rose from his chair to dismiss me. I walked back to my desk as the newsroom watched. My crime was to ask a reporter's question following the State of the Union. I did not know the rules had changed and all questions following 9/11 were seen as unpatriotic. This same corporation had just banned The Dixie Chicks country band from their radio stations for making an anti-Bush statement.

Four years later, the nation wants to know where reporters were when it needed them most. I have heard a hundred times that the press has failed them. I, for one, was getting my ass kicked for merely pointing out the obvious.

Comments

[Newsgrl81]

Leslie!

I watched you through college, interned at KTVU and soon after landed my first job as a broadcast journalist. Fast forward three years. Now I understand what my Professor was talking about my senior year in college. There are gatekeepers, and I'm not one of them.

Welcome to the world of press release journalism. What happened to covering the news?

[Jetstrm]

Leslie, excellent post. My experience in local news had a similar flavor. Even when news organizations aren't omitting stories to protect the corporate golden egg, they many times hype and promote stories that aren't worthy of significant coverage. I did weather in two large markets, and found that often I was "nudged" toward playing up the seriousness of weather events. If I wasn't asked directly to do so, the tease or promo copy would usually take care of the hype for me. Even in cases where a weather system fell apart in subsequent forecasts, producers would continue to use words like, "storm," to describe what we as meteorologists knew would just be a rainy day. That kind misinformation through hype destroys our credibility as weathercasters. It seems to me that some news directors and producers (the people in charge of what you see on the news) go for the quick-fix drug too often these days. The consequence is erosion of our credibility and under-serving our audience. No wonder our audience is moving to the internet in droves.

[frame202bros]

Great to hear someone who stands up for her convictions! Too bad there are not too many others in the Bay Area that will do the same. Now,if only you & Gary Radnich do something together,Leslie. Then we'd have something!
Thanks for believing in the truth!
Mike

[lgillooly]

So,speak out now...What is everyone's excuse now. It is NOT too late to do your job!!

[jcorrington]

WTG Leslie. I hope you keep your job, even as the lone wolf crying in the wilderness.


el 8300
ie7

[Cathexis]

More people need to realize the ramifications of consolidated Corporate ownership of media. People who need a paycheck aren't in the best positions to take stands on Journalistic responsibilities.

[kopyrightliberationfront]

I grew up watching you, Leslie! When I move back to San Francisco I will never watch Channel 2 again. Keep fighting!!!!!!!!!

[kennyinvirginia]

Reading this blog by Leslie Griffith, makes it all pretty clear to me now. I lived in San Francisco, CA, at the time of 9/11/2001. I faithfully watched Channel 2 News at 10PM every night. Leslie Griffith and Dennis Richmond were like family to me. Leslie, in particular, was a favorite, because I'd watched her move from field reporter to news anchor when the spot became available--happy because I knew her style, very real and sometimes very to the point--but journalistically professional. I noticed a change in Channel 2 after that fateful day, and I wondered if it was just me or if something had changed. This confirms my thoughts--even that great independent station could fall victim, and it had. Leslie, I am sorry, so very sorry you had to go through that, and I am very very sorry we, the viewers, had to as well. I swear, the public has lost so much.

[BluSkye]

It gets to be extremely hard to watch the television when pretty much what you see is deception especially in the area of the news. It"s more important to have a smiley face, fake empathy, censored news and annoying commercials, than to nurture curious professional investigative journalists who do tell the truth, no matter how "unpatriotic" it may sound. It gets to be so hard that it makes an individual either to turn off television or cancel those damn tv channels, and get into his/her own world of thoughts.

For all those reasons, it"s refreshing to see that there are people who are not afraid to speak up, to tell the truth. Thank you, Leslie, for standing up for what you believe it"s right!

[quest2bsure]

Leslie, thanks for the insight. I have experienced this same behavior so many times, I now believe the terms common sense and decency should be removed from the dictionary.

As a fellow Texan, I have followed the antics of our fearless leader long before his current job position. He and his cronies were well known for destroying careers of those who tried to do what was right.

I have watched and listened as family, friends and good decent fellow Americans across this country, have been called traitors because we don't buy what certain interests want
to sell us.

Un-American because I believed going to Afghanastan to fight terror was right and no bid contracts and going to Iraq were wrong.

Unpatriotic because we don't want to see our brave men and women in the armed services put in harms way for a product that powers machines and makes others rich beyond belief.

And telling hard working followers of any religious faith, we are not children of God
or GOOD CHRISTIANS if we don't believe this elitist propaganda.

I and those I've seen around me are not traitors, we are true patriots and love this country, we are Christians, Jews, Muslims and all other faiths, we are Americans and we will not be silenced for much longer by corporate elitist and "Flatworld" Capitol Hill.

One of the finest moments in recent years was hearing the Dixie Chicks say they were ashamed
to be from Texas, they paid the price for what
most of us wanted to say. "Chicks" more than you know, are very proud of you.

So Leslie if being a "SMART ASS" is their slam for you telling the truth...BE THE BIGGEST SMART ASS EVER!!!

Keep up the good work.

[AlexHidell]

It's not your fault, Leslie, Operation Mockingbird has been around since the CIA was created. This article uses past tense but the domestic op is still in effect present tense,

Operation Mockingbird,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird

Now venture further in the secret government's plans since 1973 at least

Document reveals Nixon plan to seize Arab oil fields
'70s embargo sparked 'last resort' measure, says British memo

Lizette Alvarez, New York Times

Friday, January 2, 2004
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/01/02/MNG8G427D61.DTL

Note the Brit intell estimate for an occupation lasting at least 10 years...and instead of Saudi Arabia you get Iraq, oh well...what's the difference, eh ? One set of declining oil fields looks the same as the rest, right ?

Now go rent the movie Three Days of The Condor and see that even the NYTimes didn't get it right nor print, as Cliff Robertson's character challenged Redford's. The Judith Miller's made sure of that.

[onetwonew]

I just finished reading Leslie"s latest story regarding something that happened to her at her previous place of employment before our President Bush started the Iraq War. I didn"t vote for him in either election. I have questioned for some time if older Americans have read the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights lately. I do know our juniors and seniors in High School.

The definition of Patriotism in the Random House Webster"s College Dictionary is: Devoted love, support, and defense of one"s country. The definition of a Patriot in the dictionary is: a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests.

These past few years, the political right has been saying anyone that questions our government is not patriotic. That is plain wrong! Does anyone remember the Boston Tea Party? George Washington, one of our founding fathers, leading the colonials to a new free government? His was the way by the use of force and violence, the America Revolution, and now some patriots of this era just want to question our government policies. Is our government doing the right thing by going to war or not? If we as a people don"t question our elected leaders regarding policy we are giving up our right as free people of this country. Our revolutionary soldiers fought and died for us to have this right. Their hard work lead to the creation of this great country of freedom; The United States of America!

The German people did not question Hitler after his rise to power, he created the SS, started World War Two, killed millions of people in the process and finally was defeated by people believing freedom, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and the right to question our leadership. We as the People for the People need to remember that freedom can be given up too easily and then it will be a lot harder to restore freedom after it is lost. It is our right as America Citizen"s to question our leadership. In simple words this is Freedom of Speech.

[drbud]

Leslie, just remember the words in the Bill of Rights about our freedoms. When you lose the freedom to talk you have gone a long way down the path of ALL the rest of them. What do we expect in investigative reporter to do, investigate and keep a closed mouth?

I love you. DrBud

[Karen80]

My blood pressure rose as I read this. "How the f*** can a news outlet be in bed with the administration. Why is that okay?" I thought. Your TV station has lost an honest, forthright, and conscious news reporter. The Huffington Post is so lucky to have you. Keep up the good work and keep reporting the news as it actaully is, not how some suit wants it presented.

[QueenMaedb]

Leslie, I feel your pain.

Before we went to war, I was conversing with other folks at a local brew pub. When talk went round to the coming war, I said I supported the troops but was against going to war with Iraq. I stated your reason among others. I was almost called out into the parking lot by my drinking companions!

I work in the DC area and some of my friends have clearances. They told me I was nuts when I argued that UN Investigators should be given more time. They're mum on the topic now...

Hang in there!