Searching for truth

One of the many, many reasons to be happy that the ash cloud from Iceland's volcano has dissipated enough to allow air traffic to resume is that the Global Investigative Journalism Conference, scheduled from 22-25 April 2010 in Geneva, has thus been able to hold its sixth meeting here.  There had been serious concerns as to whether some of the true lions of the genre, who were scheduled to be on the program, would be able to get here at all.  Fortunately, all is well and the Conference is going without a hitch.

Last evening's keynote speaker, for example, was one of my personal heroes, none other than US investigative journalist, Seymour ("Sy") Hersh.   Hersh is a Pulitzer Prize winner who has published several books and is a regular contributer to The New Yorker magazine, particularly for military and security matters.

One reason that Hersh is a hero to me - and to many others - is that he reports the facts about his chosen subjects as thoroughly as he is able to, no matter how unpopular those facts may be, no matter how those facts may fly in the face of "conventional wisdom," and no matter who threatens to destroy him for reporting them.  Occasionally he has not selected his sources well, particularly with respect to investigative reporting dealing with private lives of public officials.  But, for the most part and especially in recent years, the facts reported by Hersh, no matter how many, how "official" or how high-level the denials, are "spot on."  That Richard Perle, for example, one of those who most scurrilously and without shame led the charge for the US's invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, illegal by recognized international legal norms, would call Hersh "the closest thing American journalism has to a terrorist," should be considered a badge of honor, in my opinion.

Speaking last night, Hersh stated his belief that we could lose 70 percent of the top editors of all the networks and journals in the United States - and journalism would be all the better for it - because the people that get promoted to those posts are the most cautious, .  He described some defining moments in his career, how difficult it was to get his story about the My Lai massacre published, and his optimism about the role of the internet in improving investigative journalism.  Among other things, he described his ongoing relations with retired senior military officers who continue to be some of his best sources.  He believes that the world, however, is even more frightening now simply because no one is sure who is calling the shots.  Some Presidential advisors seem more taken with themselves than with providing the kind of advice that they should.  While I wish that I could have been present in person, it was not to be.  Excerpts and highlights from Hersh's visit can be found here. 

One of the most famous questions in history is that of Pontius Pilate when he asked, "What is truth?"  According to the story, Pilate literally washed his hands of it.  He found no guilt in the person before him.  Because it was obvious that the howling mob wanted a verdict of guilty, Pilate simply let them have what they wanted.  Even now, "truth" still has no single definition upon which a clear majority can agree, particularly when one describes "truth" further as being subjective, relative, objective, or absolute.  Whatever any single person may know or believe is limited by that person's knowledge, life experiences, culture and intellectual curiosity.

Investigative journalists clearly are not sources of absolute truth.  They have their own biases and points of view even when they sincerely try to be as objective as possible in reporting the facts.  But they are courageous when they report stories that need to be brought to the public consciousness, when they report facts that are being hidden, denied or factually misrepresented, and when they do not skew those facts to make individuals or institutions look better - or worse - than the facts themselves warrant.  They are especially courageous when they do this at personal or professional risk, as is much too often the case.  They are very unpopular among those who feel threatened by truth, who try to demean or otherwise discredit them, as the very nasty Mr. Perle did.  I, for one, thank them all.  Heartily.  By attempting to inform us, these investigative journalists often work "outside the box" to perform an unparalleled and altogether necessary public service.

This is more important now than it has ever been, especially when the major US news networks deliberately parade before us too many public figures whose acquaintance with facts is minimal if that, who pride themselves on that minimal acquaintance, who merely repeat the false mantras they hear from equally misinformed others or from those with a particular religious or political agenda, and who seem unable to see how profoundly illogical and mean-spirited they appear.