"Just imagine a young journalist who knows how to write and has also studied forensic accounting. He or she would be a holy terror. Politicians and executives alike would quake in their boots at the mere mention of the reporter’s name. And when they hear who is in the waiting room, they’ll hide everything in sight. It would be like having a secret weapon in your pocket." - Attribution, Plagiarism and Lies - Part 2 - Hot Copy, by Del Marbrook
I like the thought of people quaking in their boots at the mere mention of my name. But as of speaking, my 4 year old nephew starts rolling on the floor with uncontrolled mirth whenever I'm the subject of discussion. So there's a bit of work to be done, before I can hope to become a holy terror. Moving away from navel gazing, I'll list a few scribes who do manage to induce a few beads of sweat:
Bob Woodward : Nothing much to say about Woodward that hasn't been said, discussed and dissected on the net. Starting off with a navy career, Woodward moved over to reporting, broke the Watergate scandal, had a movie made about his exploits, regularly churns out best-selling and meticulously researched books. Has a great job with the Washington Post, which gives him a lot of freedom to write his books. His latest book was one of the turning points in the shaping of American opinion about the Iraq war. You can say that it started going downhill for the Bush administration after Woodward's book came out. In short, he's everything that defines the concept of a journalist as a 'holy terror'.
That said, there's something more about Woodward that needs to be said. He's a sellout. He cultivates friendships and flushes them down the loo when he's done. He has a long trail of bitter friendships, starting from Mark Felt to Carl Bernstein right up to President Bush. Modus operandi: Snuggle up to people, listen to what they have to say, flatter them, make use of their information and access and then shut the door in their face. He's done it all his life, and I don't see a shred of emotion or remorse in him. A real cold-blooded fish. Or a successful journalist and investigative reporter. Take your pick. I guess it means the same...
Seymour Myron Hersh : Exploits? Investigative reporting on My Lai, the C.I.A.'s bombing of Cambodia, Henry Kissinger’s wiretapping, and the C.I.A.'s efforts against Chile's Salvador Allende, among other topics. In 2004, Hersh was responsible for exposing the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. He then moved on to the Bush administrations plans to deal with Iran and with a single article effectively blew the bottom out of any Iran buzz.
Seymour Hersh's main assets include an unshakable conviction that as a reporter, he's entitled to the truth and a deep pipeline into the armed forces, which helps him dig up and write about the dark side of war and its ravages. If you're in the middle of a war, have something to hide and you find Hersh sniffing at your heels, it would be a good time to break out in a sweat.
Matt Drudge : If you don't read the Drudge report, you're one news cycle behind anyone else who does. The secret of his strength is his unshakable reader base, which he cultivates with a very simple formula. Breaking news. If I'm following a story and expect some breaking news, there are only two sites I keep open - The NYT and Drudge. Every single time, it's either one of these that breaks the news first. And if you are the headline in Drudge, you would be well advised to go on a vacation, a long one.
Flawed as they are, these are the representative icons of journalism and news reporting. Ultimately, they must be thanked for doing their job. Which is to break news and bring out the truth.
