i found this on one of my endless quests for entertainment whilst waiting for a game
One night, probably in 1880, John Swinton, then the preeminent New York journalist, was the guest of honour at a banquet given him by the leaders of his craft. Someone who knew neither the press nor Swinton offered a toast to the independent press. Swinton outraged his colleagues by replying:
"There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it.
There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone.
"The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread.
You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press?
We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes."
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(Source: Labor's Untold Story, by Richard O. Boyer and Herbert M. Morais, published by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, NY, 1955/1979.)
yep sounds about right for todays newsies too eh
cheers
rij
sounds familiar?
snopes has nothing about this. someone must've found it recently eh?
hey rijruna did you catch that show "Fine Line" on SBS sunday night?
6 part series, i'm not sure if this is the first one or what. it was REALLY good, they were conducting onsite interviews with all these top aust TV/radio ppl. john laws, the head of SBS, it was great.
kinda like mediawatch, but in documentary format
if you missed it, try to catch it next sunday.
hey rijruna did you catch that show "Fine Line" on SBS sunday night?
6 part series, i'm not sure if this is the first one or what. it was REALLY good, they were conducting onsite interviews with all these top aust TV/radio ppl. john laws, the head of SBS, it was great.
kinda like mediawatch, but in documentary format
if you missed it, try to catch it next sunday.
07:30 pm DOCUMENTARY SERIES - FINE LINE
Directed and presented by journalist Ellen Fanning, this six-part series looks behind the scenes at some of Australia's best- known journalists and reveals the anguished ethical judgements they make, the power they wield and the fine line they walk between privacy, decency and the public's right to know. In this episode we enter the tabloid world of early evening commercial current affairs programs and explore the impact of the race for ratings on what viewers see and hear. (Commissioned by SBS Independent, in English)
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