Without good journalists we have no real chance of knowing what is happening in the world.
We rely on good journalists to visit places we cannot,
and tell us what they find.
To look where we cannot,
and tell us what they see.
To listen where we cannot,
and tell us what they hear.
In particular, the only way we can know what our government is doing, what policies it is pursuing, what the effects of those policies are, which officials are doing good jobs, and which officials are doing bad jobs, is by relying on good journalists. Because how else CAN we know?
This exciting book is about some of the greatest journalists of all time.
It starts with the pioneering British war correspondent William Howard Russell (1820-1907) who wrote for The Times of London.
He became famous describing what he saw and heard - and what he thought and felt - during the Crimean War between Great Britain and Russia (1853-1856). He told his readers about the courage of the soldiers, but also about their pain and suffering during the war. He told his readers about government incompetence, especially in dealing with the wounded and the sick, which led, on the positive side, to reforms, and, on the negative side, to greater military censorship over reporters!
In later years Russell wrote with brutal honesty about British cruelty and atrocities in India during The Mutiny and during a trip to the United States he wrote about the terrible Union loss at the Battle of Bull Run. His unvarnished account of this debacle angered Northern readers so much that he received death threats for months from people who did not want to believe what he wrote, and eventually he decided he could only be safe by returning to England.
Russell retired in the 1880's but he left behind an inspiring example of telling the truth even when it makes people angry, even when it puts the teller in danger. He left behind an example of why we need journalists like him.
As this book's chapter on Russell concludes he "... now seems like a figure from a very distant age, but, as a teller of uncomfortable truths, and a challenger of cherished prejudices, he has had few equals. His reports from the Crimea, India and the US are a reminder that the reporting that really matters is an act not only of research, precision and coolness, but, above all, of moral courage."
There are 12 more journalistic giants to enjoy and learn from in this book. These are some of the greatest practitioners of a noble profession. If you like reading about heroes, these are heroes!
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The Great Reporters
David Randall
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Copyright © 2020 by Joseph Wayne Gadway
