Lost in Translation: The Line Between Journalism and Espionage

NY Times article: "Contracts Tied To Efforts to Kill Militants"

Let me get this straight. So the "benign gov't info-gathering program" was a website known as Afpak, proposed by a former CIA guy and a former TV exec., set up to operate as what looks like a local news service focusing on cultural conflict issues in the context of wartime. And the intermediary - the accused Mr. Furlong - between the military and Afpak told Afpak that the military wasn't interested while also telling the military that Afpak was worthwhile? And when the rug got solidly pulled out from under Afpak, Furlong reallocated some of the leftover funding into one military program while shoving the rest - $15 mill. - into thin air?

Out of all this, aside from the outrageousness of his actions, if verified, it strikes me how apparently this Afpak endeavor was never clearly defined as either news-gathering versus covert intelligence gathering. If the boundary between the two is not recognized by the editors, not to mention our own military, contractors and the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan - two countries where the USA has unstable relations, to say the least - then it's no wonder why journalism is regarded with suspicion and contempt by leaders on both sides (despite what they may say in public about the importance of a free press) and why the work journalists produce – and risk their lives for – are regarded as little more than spying.

It’s no wonder why what we do is lost in translation in countries where there is no free press. It’s no wonder why our own gov’t leaders make such pitiful efforts to defend our work and our lives when it comes to that.

New York Times Hoax Fit To Prank

article by NYCity News Service Staff
video reported by Heather Chin

In this piece, a team of reporters from the NY City News Service canvassed New York subway stations hit by volunteers distributing a faux special edition of The New York Times, declaring the Iraq War over, among other liberal utopian headlines.
I shot the accompanying video piece.

For the original article and video, go here.

A Journalist's Direction: Divining Rod or Diversion?

(previously published here on September 25, 2008)

Like musicians and strains of melody, reporters generally have an “ear” for newsworthy events and reporting opportunities. Whether it’s being at the scene of a car accident and interviewing witnesses (after pulling people out of the wrecking, per Journalistic Ethics discussions) or chasing a tornado, or pursuing a hesitant, but important, source for a story, journalists tend toward a knack of blending curiosity and intuition. We’re reporters and we’re hungry for stories!

But sometimes reporting needs to take a backburner to our humanity, as well as to practicality.

This week, an elderly woman had a heart attack on the city bus I was taking home. Two teenaged girls sitting across from her immediately told the driver to stop and proceeded to call 911. Since the woman kept saying she lives just a few blocks away, I went over and, loathing standing by helplessly and wanting to do something for her but having 911 already taken, asked her if anyone was home to call. She said yes and I called her husband, Alex. Within 10 minutes, one set of EMTs, two fire trucks, the ambulance and Alex arrived. I watched them take her off the bus in a wheelchair, then got off the bus, made sure the EMTs didn’t need me to fill out a statement, and went home.

Pretty simple and straightforward.

But what kept bothering me for hours after was that my internal monologue/reaction to the woman having a heart attack was - at least in my mind - seflish: I wanted not just to help her, but to be a part of the action. The human side of me wanted to do all I could to help and the inquisitive side didn’t want to be left behind, not knowing and engaging in the details. So while this was not newsworthy material, but there was still a part of me that wanted to question passengers and EMTs to get into their heads, too. And now I felt somewhat ashamed.

But why be ashamed?

So my questions are: is this story an example of simply normal inquisitiveness and desire to help or could a journalist be so entrenched in a desire for answers and context that they get drawn to stories that aren’t stories?