Three columnists for the Egyptian independent daily Al-Tahrir will not be publishing their regular columns in protest at what they view as censorship by the current military rulers. Belal Fadl, Omer Taher, and Nagla Bedir have been openly critical of policies made by the transition government, and are protesting the decision of authorities to stop the publication of a piece critical of Egypt’s intelligence service last week.
Key witnesses at the House of Lords Communication Committee believe that education is the key to the future of investigative journalism in an increasingly difficult media environment.
Speaking at the inquiry into the future of investigative journalism, key witnesses John Lloyd and David Levy from the Reuters Institute and John Mair, a senior lecturer in broadcasting at Coventry University suggested that reform of the journalism education system in the UK could be the way to move journalism forward in an ever evolving landscape.
John Lloyd explained that new forms of crime “are furiously complex” and as such a need for an improved education of journalism is crucial. Lloyd said that contemporary journalism needs better explaining and understanding skills than ever before, along with a wide range of new skills and an understanding of new technology.
John Mair commented that journalism education in the UK is “a mess”, and suggested that every journalism course should have an element of investigate journalism training, but added:
“Investigative journalists are a strange breed. They’re accurate, they have a sense of mischief, and they’re bloody determined. I’m not sure you can teach that.”
Levy explained the importance of investigative journalism in society, commenting that it “uncovers things people don’t want to be uncovered,” but stressed that there was a need to balance what was in the public interest with what interests the public. Levy also said that in the process of uncovering those things, deception was sometimes necessary, and spoke of an opportunity for journalism which “covers a wider spectrum of organisation,” suggesting that more organisations could benefit from closer scrutiny.
Describing the MP’s expenses revelations as “classic investigation,” Mair said that the scandal was “admirably” exposed by the Daily Telegraph.
Lloyd stressed that the public interest is the core of investigation. He supported the view that measures taken to uncover investigative journalism stories are retrospectively justified, claiming that the checks and balances that are in place are such that it is possible to determine the extent of the public interest. Throughout the evidence session, the witnesses stressed the importance of balancing the damage done through investigation proportionately with the public interest.
The witnesses suggested that “mutual” journalism, a result of the internet, between professionals and citizens could be the future of the trade. Mair added that the changes in the media sphere had changed dramatically, comparing citizen journalism as we know it now to the reader’s letters sections of the past.
Lloyd added that journalism must build into the area in which profits can be realised, citing investigative journalism as a key aspect of this. He described the MP’s expenses scandal as “an uninhibited search for scandalous information”, and went on to suggest that unless this kind of journalism is being undertaken, the plurality of the British press will shrink.
The committee raised concerns regarding “retrospective justification” of investigative journalism, and the witnesses explained that justification is the only kind there is, but explained that editors and journalists must be prepared to face the consequences of their investigations and publications. Lloyd explained in relation to the phone hacking case in particular, “the end justified the means.”
The session was completed with a statement from Mair: “Great investigations keep us all honest.”
Like in a good spy novel, Santiago O’Donnell met Julian Assange, the head of Wikileaks, in an English country house after taking a serpentine route. There he received instructions on how to obtain the 2600 US State Department cables on Argentina. The release of the cables comes at a time of much friction between the Argentine media and President Cristina Kirchner.
O’Donnell, international editor for the left of centre newspaper Pagina 12, published several stories on the controversial batch of documents, but then went one step further; he wrote a bestseller, ArgenLeaks, in which he published the contents of the cables providing context and a sense timing to each of them. Organised alphabetically, the cables deal with such items as the relationship between Argentina’s largest daily Clarin and the US Embassy. It touches on the Valijagate, the story involving Antonini Wilson, the Venezuelan businessman who was caught with $800,000 and said it was money for the 2007 presidential campaign of Christina Kirchner. The case caused a serious breakdown in relations between the US and the new Kichner administration.
The book explains how it was all a misunderstanding that was expertly cleared up by the then Ambassador to Argentina Anthony Wayne. Some of the cables describe intricate political scandals better understood by Argenphiles, but there is a lot for general readers. In one interesting chapter on the Piqueteros, the social movement in Argentina, O’Donnell explains how the tone in the cables on these groups of protesters — there are several — who block roads to trigger government action to social demands, change when the Obama Administration comes into office. O’Donnell, a sort of curmudgeon of Argentinian journalism, says he wrote the book “as a rebellious act” to show how polarised Argentina’s media has become. The book shows that is not true that the pro-government dailies write about one half of Argentina’s reality and the opposition media about the other half, says O’Donnell. The truth is that neither of them writes about certain issues, he emphasises.
Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa has threatened to bring charges against the newspaper El Universo after publishing a letter critical of the Correa’s negative comments about María Leonor Jiménes, the Guaya Court of Justice president, on a radio program. The letter was written by legislator Cynthia Viteri, daughter of Jiménes, and in it she called the president “an ignorant coward, hypocrite and a bully”. Correa tweeted that “newspapers should not publish insults.” Earlier this year, Correa won a libel suit against El Universo, after a columnist criticised the president. The newspaper was handed a $40 million fine and prison sentences for the owner and the columnist.