Russ Baker: Miller is a symptom of everything wrong with US journalism

[BurtWorm]

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051114/its_not_just_judy.php


It's Not Just Judy
Russ Baker
November 14, 2005

...

For one thing, the Times’ leadership has still not come clean about the process and values that allowed someone so compromised and controversial even within her own newsroom to continue to operate with impunity. The paper’s position belatedly shifted from there being no problem at all with its Iraq coverage to there having been a lamentable but understandable industry-wide screw-up caused by faulty sources, to, finally, there being a Miller problem—when in fact it is about something bigger: the failings of theTimes itself, and of all journalism in the age of Bush.

Miller was not some rogue operator. She was a star at America’s most prestigious news organization. Whatever her journalism was about, she certainly never understood the journalistic dictum "afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted." She loved all things gilded and powerful, and thrilled at the company of the connected. She was unique in the Times newsroom because, like Sally Field at the Academy Awards so many years ago, she could say of people like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld: “They like me! They really like me!”

...


Too many journalistic institutions are living in an idyllic past. The uniquely American notion of objective journalism, of reporting both perspectives and letting readers decide for themselves, while admirable, is increasingly meaningless. Especially when one’s job is to referee between a six-headed, hundred-tongued hydra and the tactical equivalent of Bambi.

Miller liked to say that the issue wasn’t whether or not she got the story wrong, but that the sources were wrong, and the Times leadership took up this chant as well. Sorry, folks. The essence of good journalism is not reporting what people say, but figuring out who is telling the truth. Miller had it all precisely….wrong. In her world, Ahmad Chalabi was an informed source, Kofi Annan, a scoundrel....

[spindrifter]

1. It goes even beyond this analysis

The sad thing is that JMiller is an example of a pampered star at a competitive newspaper. That JM was all about JM cannot be refuted. It's unfortunate that the NYT became her enabler. Like a lot of people who live with alcoholics or drug addicts or people with mental illness, JM's editors became her enablers. And like any good abuser, JM screwed them, and of course, us--her reading public.
I hope the editors at every newspaper and TV station take a good look at themselves and ask--am I letting X do this because I am afraid of his/her ego or am I letting X do this because this is a legitimate way to go about gathering information and presenting it to our public?
It's all about truth, isn't it.

[pretzel4gore]

3. the truth is bush stole the 2k election

with the connivance of the newsmedia, corporate division....the question is: how did they expect to get away with the plame outting thing? and nytimes/miller's critically timed help to get the phony iraq 'war' going...the depravity of the bush criminals and their media aides is beyond belief, they're the political equivilent of a serial killer

[GreenArrow]

2. not just a symptom of what's wrong with US journalism

but a symptom of everything wrong with our society. She's a blight.