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Coverage of Terrorism
The author standing next to the body of Pol Pot.
the leader of the Khmer Rouge.
I called editors seeking plane fare to
go back to Cambodia. “I believe I might
be able to get to Pol Pot,” I said. I was
flatly turned down. I borrowed money
and got on a plane that day. Six weeks
later, I emerged from Khmer Rougecontrolled
jungles having gotten to
Khmer Rouge headquarters and been
the only reporter to attend the “trial” of
Pol Pot, one of the century’s most
sought-after mass murderers. In 18
years he hadn’t been seen or photographed.
For a couple of days, it became
the biggest story in the world.
And as a freelancer, I had the only
firsthand reporting, still pictures, and
video of the story.
I received thousands of calls from
media wanting my pictures and story.
As I sat in my office in Bangkok, journalists
from the world’s major media
descended like vultures. And before
I’d even finished writing my story, these
events were front-page news around
the world. Ted Koppel of ABC News
flew to Bangkok from Washington, and
he returned home with a copy of my
videotape. I gave it to him in exchange
for his strict promise that its only use
would be on “Nightline.” However,
once he had the copy of the tape, ABC
News released video, still pictures, and
even transcripts of my interviews to
news organizations throughout the
world. Protected by its formidable legal
and public relations department,
ABC News made still photographs from
the video, slapped the “ABC News Exclusive”
logo on them, and hand delivered
them to newspapers, wire services,
and television. It also released
the transcripts of my interviews to The
New York Times and placed pictures
and video on its Web site with instructions
on how to download them. All of
these pictures demanded that photo
credit be given to ABC News.
Even though ABC News does not
have a correspondent in Southeast Asia,
it looked as though ABC News had
gone and found Pol Pot. The Far Eastern
Economic Review ran my story in
its weekly edition a couple of days
later. But already thousands of newspapers,
magazines and television stations
had published or broadcast the
story, thanks to ABC News. The story
won a British Press Award for “Scoop of
the Year” for a British paper I didn’t
even know had published it. The Wall
Street Journal (also owned by Dow
Jones), for which I’d never written
about this story, also won several
awards for its coverage. I even won a
Peabody Award as a “correspondent
for ‘Nightline.’” But I turned it down—
the first time anyone had rejected a
Peabody in its 57-year history. No one
noticed, since ABC News banned me
from attending the ceremony after I
told Koppel I would reject the award.
When I watch the Afghan coverage
and think about the U.S. military and
American news reporters now looking
vigorously for bin Laden, I remember
that he has been interviewed and photographed
seven times by local and
freelance journalists. And when I see
the American networks play “stolen”
footage—obtained by Al-Jazerra and
lifted off satellite transmitters—I think
of the Al-Jazerra correspondents in
Kabul, risking their lives and developing
sources to obtain information and
develop access. I am outraged that a
U.S. smart bomb targeted their offices
and there was scant protest. And when
I see the Ken and Barbie news celebrities
in their color-coordinated flak jackets
reporting from the “front lines”
(microphone in one hand, aerosol hair
spray nearby), I picture them pouring
at night over the life work of Ahmed
Rashid to try to get an understanding
of what the hell is going on.
With the war in Afghanistan, it is
important to remember the invaluable
role played by freelancers and local
correspondents whose commitment to
reporting gives substance to the current
coverage. They play a pivotal role
in maintaining a free press by delivering
knowledgeable, firsthand, wellsourced
information from the field. It
is their dedication to this vital enterprise
that creates the foundation for
what we read and view, not the efforts
of slick corporate hucksters and their
willing agents who would substitute
an agenda that betrays what should be
our singular allegiance. That allegiance
should not be to Pennsylvania Avenue,
or to Wall Street, or to Madison Avenue.
It should be to Main Street. ■
Nate Thayer was the Cambodia, then
Southeast Asia, correspondent for
the Far Eastern Economic Review.
He has written for more than 40
other publications and news services
and has won numerous awards,
including the 1999 SAIS-Novartis
prize for Excellence in International
Journalism and the first award
given by the International Consortium
of Investigative Journalists.
scoop@shorenet.net
30 Nieman Reports / Winter 2001