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Article: Make way for fluff.(editors and journalists fail to pursue important stories)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
- Article from:
- The Progressive
- Article date:
- August 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 The Progressive, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I'm worried about journalism. Seems like every day there is more and more fluff--and less and less news. And when good reporters do tackle tough subjects, their editors are backing down with depressing regularity.
The current pattern began in the early 1980s when Abe Rosenthal of The New York Times banished reporter Ray Bonner to the business section after Bonner exposed the El Mozote massacre in El Salvador. At El Mozote, U.S.-trained soldiers killed hundreds of civilians. A few years later, Newsweek followed suit by easing out Robert Parry, who had done pathbreaking work on the Iran-contra scandal.
In the last two years, the trend has intensified. ...