mediachannel.org
By Rory O Connor

Let ascii117s not forget that independent joascii117rnalism is crascii117cial to informed consent of the governed -- and thascii117s a fascii117nctioning democracy.

This Independence Day we need independent joascii117rnalism more than ever – as the events leading ascii117p to and immediately following the recent resignation of General Stanley McChrystal demonstrate anew. Why was it left to an independent joascii117rnalist, Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone, to tell ascii117s important facts aboascii117t oascii117r military s people, practices and policies in Afghanistan — facts that the mainstream media&rsqascii117o;s deeply dependent and addicted to access Pentagon and Afghanistan &ldqascii117o;beat&rdqascii117o; reporters never woascii117ld and never will, facts crascii117cial to any citizen wanting to make an informed democratic decision aboascii117t oascii117r coascii117ntry s ongoing presence in Afghanistan? The MSM reporters, it tascii117rns oascii117t, are more than happy to explain. They have, yoascii117 mascii117st ascii117nderstand, an &ldqascii117o;ascii117nspoken agreement&rdqascii117o; with the people they cover on oascii117r behalf, an agreement NOT TO TELL the rest of ascii117s certain things.

Appearing on CNN s Reliable Soascii117rces program, Hastings explained to host Howard Kascii117rtz how trascii117ly independent joascii117rnalists fascii117nction:

Kascii85RTZ: Yoascii117 do not think it is likely that McChrystal and his team assascii117me that some of their joking, that some of their banter woascii117ld be treated by yoascii117 as off the record?

HASTINGS: I think yoascii117 woascii117ld have to ask General McChrystal and his team what they assascii117med. Bascii117t for me, when I go in to write a profile, and no groascii117nd rascii117les are laid down, and I am there to write an on-the-record profile and cover readings while in the room, then that means it is on the record. I mean, it is not mascii117ch of a mystery. If someone tells yoascii117 something is off the record, I don&rsqascii117o;t print it. If they don&rsqascii117o;t tell me something is off the record, then it is fair game.

Hastings also did a good job of explaining how dependent joascii117rnalists play the access game:

HASTINGS: There is a reason why when General McChrystal took the job, everyone writes a glowing profile of him, becaascii117se then that assascii117res access later on. And that assascii117res better — if yoascii117 ever write a favorable story, they will get better access later. And that was a game General McChrystal s team played very well, that if yoascii117 get — that if yoascii117 write ascii117s a good story, we will give yoascii117 good access.

They gave ascii117nprecedented access to everybody. Yoascii117 know, they let — yoascii117 know, debriefings. They let yoascii117 hang oascii117t with them. And they try to make yoascii117 feel like yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re part of the team. Bascii117t that is an illascii117sion. Yoascii117 are really part of the team. Yoascii117 know? And they know that and yoascii117 know that. Yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re a joascii117rnalist. Yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re there to tell — yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re there to tell it like it is. I am sort of shocked — or a bit sascii117rprised that –

Kascii85RTZ: Yoascii117 are saying that in yoascii117r view, joascii117rnalists who are going to be covering these gascii117ys regascii117larly, covering the war, wrote pascii117ff pieces for the express pascii117rpose of being able to get more inside stascii117ff, more access from the general and his top officials?

HASTINGS: Absolascii117tely. And I don&rsqascii117o;t think that is exclascii117sive jascii117st to General McChrystal and the reporters covering him.

Later in that same program, CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan was asked by Kascii117rtz if there is some sort of &ldqascii117o;ascii117nspoken agreement that yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re not going to embarrass [the troops] by reporting insascii117lts and banter.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;Absolascii117tely,&rdqascii117o; Logan replied. &ldqascii117o;Yes… there is an element of trascii117st.&rdqascii117o;

Jamie McIntyre, CNN s Senior Pentagon and Military Affairs Correspondent from 1992 to 2008, backed Logan s contention on his blog, and spoke of beat reporters &ldqascii117o;dirty little secret.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;I have another theory based on my 16 years of traveling with senior defense officials and military officers,&rdqascii117o; McIntyre said in his post. &ldqascii117o;Gen. McChrystal might have been ascii117nder the misimpression Hastings woascii117ld protect him, in retascii117rn for the great access and candor…The dirty little secret among beat reporters who roascii117tinely travel with top military officials is that there is a ascii117nwritten code, a general ascii117nderstanding, that off-color jokes, irreverent banter, and casascii117al conversations are generally off-the-record, or on the deepest of backgroascii117nd, ascii117nless otherwise agreed ascii117pon.&rdqascii117o; So why, McIntyre asked, &ldqascii117o;woascii117ld reporters protect senior military officers from what coascii117ld be career-ending self-inflicted woascii117nds? One word, &lsqascii117o;access.&rsqascii117o; Access now, and even more importantly access later.&rdqascii117o;

Appearing on NPR s On The Media, McIntyre had the good grace at least to say Hastings was right:

&ldqascii117o;Well, I have to say I think Michael Hastings did exactly the right thing. Part of the ascii85niform Code of Military Jascii117stice bars contemptascii117oascii117s remarks by military officers aboascii117t their commander-in-chief. So if I witnessed a military officer violating the military law on this sascii117bject, I think I woascii117ld be boascii117nd to report that.&rdqascii117o;

Lara Logan, on the other hand, saw fit to attack Hastings, his repascii117tation, and his professionalism. First she cast doascii117bt on his claim that all the interviews were on-the-record:

&ldqascii117o;Michael Hastings, if yoascii117 believe him, says that there were no groascii117nd rascii117les laid oascii117t. And, I mean, that jascii117st doesn&rsqascii117o;t really make a lot of sense to me,&rdqascii117o; she said. &ldqascii117o;I mean, I know these people. They never let their gascii117ard down like that. To me, something doesn&rsqascii117o;t add ascii117p here. I jascii117st — I don&rsqascii117o;t believe it. &rdqascii117o;

Then Logan accascii117sed Hastings of having a &ldqascii117o;damaging type of attitascii117de:

&ldqascii117o;What I find is the most telling thing aboascii117t what Michael Hastings said in yoascii117r interview is that he talked aboascii117t his manner as pretending to bascii117ild an illascii117sion of trascii117st and, yoascii117 know, he has laid oascii117t there what his game is,&rdqascii117o; Logan said. &ldqascii117o;That is exactly the kind of damaging type of attitascii117de that makes it difficascii117lt for reporters who are genascii117ine aboascii117t what they do, who do not — I do not go aroascii117nd in my personal life pretending to be one thing and then being something else. I mean, I find it egregioascii117s that anyone woascii117ld do that in their professional life.&rdqascii117o;

Finally, Logan s administered her coascii117p de grace:

&ldqascii117o;Michael Hastings has never served his coascii117ntry the way McChrystal has.&rdqascii117o;

In response to her shamefascii117l ad hominem attacks, Logan herself was promptly assaascii117lted in tascii117rn by the no-holds-barred streetfighter/attackdog Matt Taibbi. The driveby shooting occascii117rred in Taibbi s blog ascii117nder the straightforward if sophomoric headline &ldqascii117o;Lara Logan Yoascii117 Sascii117ck.&rdqascii117o;

Here is a sample:

&ldqascii117o;Anyone who wants to know why network television news has not mattered since the seventies jascii117st needs to check oascii117t this appearance by Logan. Here is CBS s chief foreign correspondent saying oascii117t loascii117d on TV that when the man rascii117nning a war that is killing thoascii117sands of yoascii117ng men and women every year steps on his own dick in front of a joascii117rnalist, that joascii117rnalist is sascii117pposed to eat the story so as not to embarrass the flag.&rdqascii117o;

When it comes to joascii117rnalistic &ldqascii117o;ascii117nspoken agreements,&rdqascii117o; Taibbi is right on the mark:

&ldqascii117o;The reason Lara Logan thinks this is becaascii117se she is like pretty mascii117ch every other &lsqascii117o;repascii117table&rsqascii117o; joascii117rnalist in this coascii117ntry, in that she sascii117ffers from a profoascii117nd confascii117sion aboascii117t who she is sascii117pposed to be working for.&rdqascii117o;

Taibbi shot himself in the foot by typically getting some basic facts wrong—no, Matt, the Pentagon did NOT spend anywhere near $4.7 billion on P.R. in 2009 alone — for which he was in tascii117rn later fact checked, corrected and slapped aroascii117nd by Jeff Bercovici in a post entitled &ldqascii117o;The McChrystal Affair: Lara Logan Is Wrong — bascii117t Matt Taibbi Is Fascii117ll of It.&rdqascii117o;

Althoascii117gh the factascii117al errors made Taibbi look sloppy at best, they still do not ascii117ndercascii117t his basic premise — and at least he ended his post by asking the right qascii117estions—qascii117estions which, like the facts and answers their Faascii117stian ascii117nspoken agreements keep hidden, we&rsqascii117o;ll never hear from the dependent corporate mainstream media:

&ldqascii117o;What the hell are we doing in Afghanistan? Is it worth all the bloodshed and the hatred? Who are the people rascii117nning this thing, what is their agenda, and is that agenda the same thing we voted for?&rdqascii117o;

So this Independence Day, I hold these trascii117ths to be self-evident: that governments are institascii117ted among men, deriving their jascii117st powers from the consent of the governed; that independent joascii117rnalism is crascii117cial to informed consent of the governed — and thascii117s a fascii117nctioning democracy; and that that whenever any form of government becomes destrascii117ctive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.

To prove this, let facts be sascii117bmitted to a candid world.