Journalist have always been on the front line. The front line of truth. Of freedom. Becoming a journalist means that one is dedicated to uncovering the truth wherever it is suppressed; journalists can be commentators - as increasingly they are, providing views that fit the agenda of their employers, but at its heart journalism is - and should be - about exposing the truth and providing us with information that the wrong doers don't want us to know about.
Be they, politicians, criminals. liars, con men or terrorists. Journalists are, as I say, on the front line of truth, uniquely positioned to fight the good fight using the pen and not the sword and satire and ridicule can be an extremely powerful part of this process.
They have to be brave. They are inevitably reporting on stuff that is unpopular amongst those people they are reporting on. Because they are finding them out, exposing their criminality or hypocrisy. Standing up for us against corrupt government and lies. If the media is controlled by government then what it reports becomes just government propaganda and we become East Germany or the Soviet Union, or North Korea.
They (journalists) have to believe that the truth is sacrosanct and that, in order to do their job, they have to report without the sort of fear of reprisals at which most of us would blanch. A truly noble profession which I think still holds true fundamentally despite the hacking scandals and illegality that sokme of them have been shown to have committed in recent times. Yes the need to sell newspapers has become an influence; scandal and gutter journalism has invaded our corrupt society, but ultimately the quest for truth is a true and noble cause and should never be diluted in a free society.
When journalists do not publish things, even if they are true, because they are too scared to do so, then they are not journalists. They are writers. Not necessarily, quite, of fiction, but close. They are certainly not investigators of truth. They become consumed, influenced, controlled by the very people and issues that they should be exposing. Their credibility is compromised by their fear and at that stage they become worthless as journalists.
Credibility is everything. In all walks of life. But to a journalist, whose stock in trade is credibility, fear renders them useless. Utterly useless.
They might as well become PR men - advocates for those who make them fearful.
In the end it amounts to the same thing.
So ask yourself this: How many UK papers, despite claiming via the 'Je Suis Charlie' slogan that they were on the side of free speech, printed the front cover of the Charlie Hebdo cartoon this week?
It's here if you're interested.
And some previous ones can be seen here:
Not really my cup of tea, I wouldn't buy this stuff and I can understand how it could be offensive to some people. I don't happen to believe that free speech is an absolute issue. I think with freedom of speech comes some responsibility in how we use it - more in a blog from long ago here.
However when it comes to Islam and its determination to retain absolute control over its believers by not modernising, translating the Quran so that we can all see what it has to say; or behaving in anything other than a medieval manner, there is a positive need to satirise and to ridicule and free speech has become a valid battle ground in my opinion. What's more it is a battle that we must win if we are to maintain our way of life and it will take the efforts of brave people, like our great British journalists, if we are to do so.
However, if our journalists cannot stand up to fear they are useless to us.
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| David Aaronovitch in the Times understands the important role of journalists. |
As does, of all people Polly Toynbee in her pece from yesterday here: Polly is not someone I usually agree with (that is something of an understatement), but I fully agree with her piece. Respect to her and credit where it's due.
Not a single UK newspaper published a Charlie Hebdo Mohammad cartoon following the Paris attack last week, whilst virtually every German, French, Belgian and Dutch newspaper did. Ironic don't you think that the fight for European values is now being led by those countries whilst our media are too scared to stand up? For fear of offending 5% of our population (Muslims) and actually, if our media & politicians are to be believed, a tiny minority of that 5%, for fear of offending when the cartoons were at the very centre of the story.
Actually it wasn't for fear of offending. Our media aren't scared of offending anyone. It was just fear. Fear for their own safety.
For our newspapers to say 'Je Suis Charlie' and then not publish the images has a very hollow ring to it.
These 'big' men and women will happily search your rubbish, go to any sordid lengths to get their story, they spend their lives offending people of all kinds, but they will not stand up for freedom of speech because they're scared?
It seems to me that not standing up for the very thing that is at the centre of your job, the thing that your job holds most dear, the thing that we rely on you to do, is a lamentable state of affairs. It's like our armed forces refusing to go into battle because they're scared of getting hurt. 'Sorry son, that's your job'. 'Sorry journalists, this is your job.
If our media won't stand up to radical Islam and to terrorism where does that leave the rest of us? And if they've given up the fight for hearts, minds and opinion via the media, our next line of defence will inevitably involve weapons rather than words. And that is truly terrifying.
Thanks for reading.
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