Journey of journalism - going full circle

Lisa McNeil,Alpharetta,Georgia — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 03:36:10 GMT

Dear Mr. Fletcher, First of all I think you do an excellent job covering the region of Israel. You have so much knowledge in reporting from that area and in reading the posting of the your experiences over the years, the people you encountered and the difficult choices you made one cannot help be moved by it all. The way we receive our news reports certainly has changed in that it is much more instant, but it can be very impersonal. There is nothing better that as you stated in the post "a trusted correspondent with experience, reporting from the field". Mr.Fletcher continue your fine reporting from that region and telling the real story of what is happening. Excellent work! I will look forward to reading your book! Peace to you and to all!

Journey of journalism - going full circle

Richard Clements Red Oak Tex. — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:11:02 GMT

I feel that there is "Information Overload" or "Abundant Information" whichever is apropriate it behoves the recipient to be objective and check these sources of Information as to reliability honesty and agenda, however the emotionally neutral reporter is still a very good source.

Journey of journalism - going full circle

Nathan, Washington, DC — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:56:01 GMT

I read you article, “30 years of ethical dilemmas while reporting from the world's war zones”, and found some of you conclusion to be poor. You appear to be an intelligent person, so I wondered what you were you thinking when you wrote this…
…I understood al-Aksa’s rationale: “The collaborators must be killed or they’ll betray more people, and next time we’ll be killed. It’s them or us.”
Or possibly, al-Aksa could jail the collaborators or exile them. Instead, they torture a confession out of them, and then execute them. I’m sure there was a fair and impartial trial involved there as well. Not to mention that the “collaborators” had a strong personal interest in what was going on.
Then you wrote this.
But I also understood the collaborators: “We have no life under the Israelis. Our lives are ruined whatever we do.”
Prior to this, you had explained that the “collaborators” were a man and married woman that were having an affair, and that the woman sold her husband out. Could it be possible that she told on her husband because she wanted rid of him, and that getting the Israelis to do it was both in her benefit as theirs. Instead, you assumed that there is a direct correlation between their life under the Israelis and there actions. Perhaps their motives for revealing the location of the wanted man, her husband, were totally selfish. I understand divorce can be a little tough in Arab communities.

Finally you wrote,
…And I understood the Israelis: “Anything goes to stop the suicide bombers from killing more Jewish children. We’re fighting a war.”
I would hardly call entering a house to arrest terrorist as an “anything goes” policy. Last I checked, there are/have not bee any carpet bombing of Palestinian towns or general shelling of the populations to get them to change their behavior.
It is journalism like this that causes serious problems. If you are going to speculate or add any level of introspection into your commentary, perhaps you should dig a little deeper and do a more complete job.

Journey of journalism - going full circle

US Citizen — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:01:05 GMT

Commercial News always has a slant they want you to accept as gospel. I'm all for more citizen reporting and let the reader or viewer decide the authenticity.
Maybe some ordinary citizen can find the missing Cheney tapes, no one else so far has. There must be some computer geek out there that has the answers the high priced computer guri in the White House can't find.

Journey of journalism - going full circle

Texas Athena — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:51:37 GMT

I think with blog/internet reporting, we're seeing a phenomenon similar to the explosion of self-publication and pamphleteering in 18th century England. There is exponentially more "reporting" out there, which means the amount of crummy reporting has increased exponentially. But so has the amount of good journalism. The cream will rise to the top. And the major news organizations can go a long way towards reminding the public of what constitutes quality and what constitutes rubbish, by selectively including quality "new journalism" among their offerings to the public.

Journey of journalism - going full circle

A Saxon, Amherst, MA — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:50:46 GMT

Regarding the "wedding" murder of the Palestinian informant that you were given the opportunity to photograph: Do I understand correctly that you had advance knowledge of a premeditated murder, but failed to warn the authorities? If so, that's not an "ethical dilemma"--that's moral bankruptcy.

Journey of journalism - going full circle

mohan parvate,mumbai,india — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:07:16 GMT

I agree with mr.fletcher that best reporting is right from the field of action by a a trusted and experienced reporter just like Mr.Shirer who reported on the rise and fall of third reich

Journey of journalism - going full circle

Nobody WI — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:29:36 GMT

I understand your dilemma, with all the new sources of information and access to publish almost universal it must be tough to envision your or the industries future. In my opinion however, I believe the argument that source report motive is mute. All of the old guard and new guard journalism empires are corrupted in their concept. They are all I have, for a very long time, been yearning for news. It seems to me that what we get from the mainstream media is not so different than what we get online or elsewhere. All of the reporting I read and see is always dosed with a healthy proportion of commentary one way or the other. If rover the cat is stuck in a tree, I don’t need a half hour filibuster about how the administration is cutting the funding to the local feline rescue and neuter associations. A cat is in a tree will suffice. I was only 3 years old for a year yet I keep getting fed information to the lowest common denominator. I appreciate brief commentary on motivation, factional divides or systemic failures but if the story is about a cat in a tree, then report about a cat in a tree.
I also understand that stories are usually more complicated, but let me judge how I feel about it and cut out the entertainment. For that I’ll read a book or see a movie. All in all I think journalism has lost its journalistic perspective and entertaining commentary rules the headlines not factual information.

Journey of journalism - going full circle

Giora Shamis, Jerusalem, Israel — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:37:46 GMT

Three points for Martin Fletcher:
1. How do you know we are happy? As a reporter you should have checked this claim.
2. Have you have checked how many exclusives in mainstream media are accurate for a proper professional comparison?
3. We wouldn't fire you. We would be happy to recruit you.
Giora Shamis, DEBKAfile Editor

Journey of journalism - going full circle

m.faust — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:37:09 GMT

What ever happened to journalist reporting the facts? Today, we have journalists with agenda's and their stories reflect their agenda. The day of unbiased news reporting are just a memory. Journalists used to have ethics, but today they seem willing to do what ever is necessary to support their agenda.

So who really cares if it's one man or a 4 man team? One must learn to read between the lines either way to get to the actual truth. There are no ethics in journalism today!