I'll be honest: I never wanted to be a journalist.
I didn't pursue the craft in college. When I did attend classes, I mixed and matched political science and history classes. With a couple notable exceptions, the instructors I met along the road thought of teaching as a bothersome duty.
I therefore read extensively at libraries while I was bored. I finally earned a degree. But I graduated, in essence, from the library, much like the great American author Ray Bradbury, who was too impoverished to attend college.
I learned about and devoured the writings and ideas of numerous authors there, including Bradbury, Jack London, Frederick Douglass, and I. F. Stone.
Later, I realized that each of these tremendous iconoclasts had influenced not only the journalist I would become, but also my steadfast conviction that, at its finest, journalism could be a tool for opposing the powerful, redressing wrongs, and uncovering hidden truths.
Stone, a Jewish bookworm with dimples who left the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a career in newsrooms rather than academia, struck a special chord with me.
In 1953, Stone started a publication named I F Stone's Weekly while unemployed and on the blacklist. For 19 years, Stone, a one-man publishing company, handled all of the research, writing, editing, and layout.
Stone and his investigative publication were the epitome of what journalism should and can be: courageous, sober, elegant, and, perhaps most importantly, a powerful tool to both comfort the suffering and afflict the affluent.Stone, a devoted "outsider," believed that fame and wealth were the antithesis of journalism. Given his freedom from the compromises and restrictions that traditional journalistic organizations frequently demand and require, he decided to operate alone.
Barbara Walters, the late television personality who passed away on the night of the new year, had a rich career and, at times, a negative impact. Stone's modesty and propensity for skulking around in the shadows in search of the truth stand as a stark contrast.
In laudatory obituaries, Walters was hailed as a trailblazer who broke through the patriarchal barriers of American network news. To her credit, Walters paved the way for a wave of female correspondents who would eventually rise to the same position and status.
Unfortunately, Walters wasted that opportunity, preferring to focus on the superficial attraction and trappings of stardom over the challenging, frequently boring task of journalism that Stone consistently engaged in year after fruitful year.
Unless you consider having Beatles drummer Ringo Starr cry important, Walters' gushy gallery of interviews with the crème de la crème of Hollywood and global capitals was primarily a vacuous vanity exercise with little, if any, journalistic value.
In the end, Walters' profession turned into an obsession with the famous and infamous, a la tabloids. This extravagant pantomime's main goal was to portray Barbara Walters as an alluring power broker who could gain the respect and loyalty of A-listers in movies, television, and politics while also boosting viewers.
Not journalism, that. In doing so, you are serving as a handmaiden to a colorful galaxy of appreciative stars covered in the patina of journalism.
For any journalist who is aware that cozy familiarity and easy access to the powers that be inevitably weaken the adversarial connection that must exist between them, Walters had become the kind of "insider" who should be despised.As a result, I believe Stone would have been horrified at any idea that Walters' glitzy, ratings-driven gimmick had anything to do with reporting. Walters enjoyed playing the happy conduit for the affluent and famous who made her famous, as seen by the smooth interviews she gave.
Stone wasn't distracted by the frivolity of stargazing. He understood that uncovering the truth required him to spend hours carefully reviewing public records with a critical eye and seeking out nameless officials who could assist him in providing the answers that the public's interest required.
Stone broke dozens of significant stories on a shoestring budget, including the fabrication by US President Lyndon Johnson of a "unprovoked attack" on two US destroyers engaged in "routine patrol" in the Gulf of Tonkin, which sparked a resolution in Congress authorizing the use of force in Vietnam and the ensuing disastrous escalation.
Walters' banal, self-serving view of the fourth estate, on the other hand, was that of a candy shop, where the public might enjoy in inexpensive, sweet treats without being bothered by the lies, crimes, and injustices carried out by thieves and liars in high places.
I cannot think of a single big story of any enduring significance that Walters was in charge of breaking during her decades-long career, despite her purported journalistic heft and ability.
On a shoestring budget, Stone broke dozens of important stories, such as Lyndon Johnson's fabrication of a "unprovoked attack" on two US destroyers conducting "routine patrol" in the Gulf of Tonkin, which led to a resolution in Congress authorizing the use of force in Vietnam and the ensuing disastrous escalation.
On the other side, Walters' trite, self-serving view of the fourth estate was that of a candy shop, where the populace might take pleasure in cheap, sweet delicacies without being disturbed by the falsehoods, crimes, and injustices committed by thieves and liars in high places.
Despite her alleged journalistic weight and prowess, I cannot recall a single major story of any lasting significance that Walters was in charge of breaking over her decades-long career.
Success encourages repetition and imitation. And that, in my opinion, is Barbara Walters' curse.
Instead of devoting time, effort, and resources to more urgent subjects that require attention, Walters' followers, whether male and female, are more interested in securing "the get" interview with the celebrity of the day.
Journalism has become a distant bystander to the chase of a brief burst of fame in this ephemeral calculus.Not all of the blame for this destructive occurrence can be placed on Walters. Even so, she undoubtedly played a role in the unfavorable rise of "star" hosts whose sole on-air skill is to play the interviewing version of T-ball with a bunch of likeable celebs.
This Sunday night, when Anderson Cooper's amicable interview with Prince Harry occupies prime real estate on the renowned CBS newsmagazine, 60 Minutes, viewers drawn to this tripe will see Walters' legacy on regrettable display.
She would undoubtedly lament not getting the desired tête-à-tête if Walters and Stone were present. He would bemoan the frivolity in the meanwhile.
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