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Nieman Notes
Gaining New Appreciation for a Free Press—From Afar
Karl Idsvoog, a 1983 Nieman, spent
seven weeks in Tbilisi, Georgia this fall
on a U.S. State Department-funded mission
through Internews, a nonprofit
organization supporting independent
media in emerging democracies. He
went to train investigative reporters at
Rustavi 2 Television, an independent
television station in Georgia.
He writes: “It was a great time to be
in Georgia. The interior minister threatened
the station’s CEO. The following
week, the security minister sent agents
to the station, who demanded various
financial records of the station. The
station CEO ordered every camera in
the place turned on—they went live.
Within minutes, citizens of Tbilisi were
gathering outside of Rustavi 2. The
following day, thousands marched on
Parliament. And, subsequently, several
ministers resigned.
“Rustavi 2 has lots of production
and equipment problems, but the main
thing it has is commitment. Those who
work there believe in the importance
of a free press to a democracy—something
owners of America’s broadcast
corporations seem to have forgotten.
As the ad market in the United States
continues its slump, as stations continue
to cut costs, there’s one question
every corporate executive and every
American should ask: ‘What price has
our nation paid for the profit margins
of America’s news corporations?’
“At Rustavi 2 Television, all the journalists
as well as their owners talk about
the importance of a free press to democracy.
And it’s not just talk. Despite
death threats (a popular anchor was
recently murdered), journalists and
their owners are committed to focusing
on issues of critical importance to
the developing democracy here. Yet in
America, news corporations continue
to cut newsroom budgets. What price,
as a nation, will we pay?
“And despite some excellent newspaper
reporting, for the American public
to be informed the news needs to be
on television. Prior to September 11,
how much would the American public
know from watching “20/20,”
“Primetime Live,” “Dateline,” the morning
shows, and the entire Fox network
about the threat of terrorism, American
foreign policy, the attitudes of the
Arab states toward America, world poverty
and its implications on political
stability? Anyone working on those
shows as well as the American viewing
public knows the answer. American
broadcast corporations have failed miserably.
Before September 11, with only
a few exceptions, our so-called newsmagazines
paid more attention to Hollywood
than to Washington. That’s not
surprising. Unlike the owners of news
companies here in Tbilisi who are concerned
about democracy, the owners
of America’s news corporations are
concerned mainly about money.
“Examining issues of significance to
a community takes time and time is
money. It’s cheaper to do live-shot
journalism. It’s cheaper to replace experienced
(more expensive) reporters
with inexperienced (cheaper) ones. So,
for the moment, the profit continues,
but the public loses, and so does democracy.
Terrorists will never destroy
American democracy. But greed might.”
In the United States, Idsvoog runs
First Amendment Investigations, providing
investigative data and video services
to law firms representing media
organizations. In the spring, he expects
to be doing more work for
Internews. ■
—1992—
Raymundo Riva Palacio is in a new
editing position: “After several months
of pressure from the Mexican Presidency,
I was finally fired (the story of
my life) from Milenio, a newspaper I
founded (a 10-year project), which is
part of a very important media group in
Mexico. I am now working as executive
editor of Detrás de la Noticia, a small
multimedia group that produces TV
and radio news programs, is an Internet
provider, and a wire news service (that
is quality, not quantity oriented), and
publishes a weekly political magazine
in several newspapers in Mexico, including
El Universal, of Mexico City
(total circulation, est: 250,000). I am
also writing a twice-a-week column in
El Universal.”
—1994—
Larry Tye writes, “After 20 years at
newspapers—the last 15 at The Boston
Globe covering issues from medicine
and environment to sports—I left this
summer to try book writing full time.
My book on the renewal underway
across the Jewish Diaspora, ‘Home
Lands: Portraits of the New Jewish
Diaspora,’ came out in September. I
just signed a contract with Henry Holt
for another book, on the Pullman porters
and how they helped spawn the
Civil Rights movement and today’s black
middle class. I also am setting up and
will run a fellowship program—sponsored
by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Massachusetts Foundation—to train
young medical reporters from print,
radio and TV.”
—1996—
Dave Marcus took a leave of absence
from US News & World Report,
to “write a book about teenagers who
have problems at home and school.
After covering terrorism for years, it
was tough not to write about September
11, but I’m finally relishing life in
Northampton, Massachusetts. The four
of us can be reached at (413) 586-3732,
or Dave@DaveMarcus.com. For more
on my project: www.DaveMarcus.com.”
—2001—
Sulaiman al-Kahtani is doing a postdoctoral
fellowship at the Center for
Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University.
The fellowship began in the fall
of 2001 and will continue through the
116 Nieman Reports / Winter 2001