Journalists Who Made The Ultimate Sacrifice

Media integrity has been a hot topic lately. Plenty of accusations of fraud have been leveled at the MSM, and rightly so. However, I would like to offer a different perspective; which is that exposing the evil and ugly truth is now, and has historically been, a perilous and fearsome undertaking.

I chose this forum, Dissecting Disinformation, as a response to our collective idea that we are entitled to the truth-- that it is our right, when in reality truth has always come at a cost, and one which very few of us would be willing to pay.

The cases are many. I’ll highlight a few of the more horrific, and please feel free to add to the list of martyrs in the name of truth and righteousness here.

I’ll start with a recent and tragic death, the 6th reporter to be killed in Mexico this year, Javier Valdez. I’ll link an article that I hope you take the time to read. Valdez was a brave and good man. The world is darker without him.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

And somehow, in the midst of all this bloodshed, his pen found a way to make sense of the senselessness. As the then-researcher for CPJ's Americas program in November 2011, I had the honor of first translating his acceptance speech and then interpreting it live with him on the stage of the Waldorf Astoria ballroom, and even in rehearsals I could not once get through it without tears. After lamenting a future Mexican generation whose "DNA is tattooed with bullets and guns and blood," he wrote that while once his "withered soul" had found shelter only in words, the press freedom awards represented a "light house on the other side of the storm, a safe harbor beyond the squall" where he could feel "less alone."

cpj.org...

This next story is too gruesome and sad and unjust to believe. I can’t/won’t go into any details and warn you that they are nauseating. But this great man deserves to have his story told. Tim Lopes, a hero, was kidnapped while undercover on a story of a brutal drug cartel’s child trafficking ring. He was tortured and murdered for trying to expose the truth. Here is a link to his story but I warn you, it will f%*$ up your day.

en.wikipedia.org...

Closer to home (US), we have Gary Webb, who was “suicided” by two shotgun blasts to the head. I urge you to look into his story if you haven’t yet.

Here’s an interesting article depicting MSM’s response to real reporting:
www.washingtonpost.com... 295c773_story.html?utm_term=.6d282346baa6

I actually find the comments to be much more informative than the article! Interesting!

To these brave souls, and to many more not mentioned, whose life and the life of their loved ones were snuffed out for bringing the truth to light, I salute you. If not for you and brave people like you the world would be darker, seedier, and less noble.

We all know that Anderson Cooper would not sacrifice his lily a** for the truth, and Don Lemon was crying after being pepper sprayed while on the scene of a riot. I doubt he ever hit the field again.

No surprise MSM is fluff if this is the alternative. Don’t you agree ATS?

a reply to: zosimov

Michael Hastings also comes to mind:

Rolling Stone Article

Great thread Zos - this topic deserves our attention.

Also R.I.P. Gary Webb, a true American hero!

a reply to: FamCore

Awesome, FamCore. Thanks for adding to our list.

An interesting link-- Committee to Protect Journalists

cpj.org...

a reply to: zosimov

Real journalism has died in America, people are not noticing that even the national news media in the nation now rely on tabloids to push for headline news, without even taking the time to see if the news are real facts or fake.

What that tells you.

Thanks for the OP.

a reply to: zosimov

there is such a thing as journalists, and your examples are good. The MSM are entertainers. Here to keep your attention, and adjust your opinions. The difference between the two is much like noon and midnight.

a reply to: marg6043

I guess very little of substance can be found on those tv sets.

Thank you for reading and for the comment! Keep an eye out for the good/brave ones.

a reply to: zosimov

Tales of military industrial complexes.

By using the NSA to spy on American citizens, Binney told me, the United States has created a police state with few parallels in history: “It’s better than anything that the KGB, the Stasi, or the Gestapo and SS ever had.” He compared the situation to the Weimar Republic, a brief period of liberal democracy that preceded the Nazi takeover of Germany. “We’re just waiting to turn the key,” he said.

Obama’s Crackdown on Whistleblowers

Now we have the CIA labeling wikileaks non-state intelligence actors.

INTERCEPTED PODCAST: JULIAN ASSANGE SPEAKS OUT AS TRUMP’S CIA DIRECTOR THREATENS TO “END” WIKILEAKS

And then there's ATS. Awesome Trumpets $hilling on parade with "their" Brave New Spin on free speech. I don't see this thread going anywhere, wrong place and wrong time. Maybe 10 years ago.
But we will have a blaze mocking the police state actors once they show up. 3 cheers to the progress involved with good folks paying the ultimate price!

a reply to: PublicOpinion

Great post! Chilling, too.

Anyways, I'll cheers to this!

3 cheers to the progress involved with good folks paying the ultimate price!

*Edit to OP:
Don Lemon was tear-gassed, not pepper-sprayed. My apologies.

a reply to: zosimov

because emoji's can say more ?



more than a salute
one day they will be vindicated

a reply to: kibric

Well put. And I do believe with all my heart that the real truth seekers and martyrs will be vindicated one day.

I just realized that my link to a WA Po article in the OP is broken. I can't find a working link but here is the name of the article in question, which you can find by typing into google.

“Gary Webb Was No Journalism Hero, Despite What ‘Kill the Messenger’ Says”

I found this link to a piece addressing this article, which is very well written and includes video of Webb's last interview, days before his death:
www.huffingtonpost.com...

The article with the broken link is significant in the difference between the article and the comments below. The people commenting are not buying Washington Post's view.

Thanks again for taking the time to explore this crucial topic! Let's keep the dialogue going!

RIP Miroslava Breach. Killed 3/23/17 in front of her house and one of her children.

www.cpj.org...

a reply to: zosimov

From the article:

Breach covered, among other subjects, politics, crime, and the intersection of the two. Since January 2017 she had also headed her own news agency, MIR, and had long been a contributor to the Chihuahua news website Norte, which announced after her murder that it was closing.

Doubtful this murder will ever be prosecuted.

I just found an excellent article about Tim Lopes and the danger facing the press/police in Rio. I'd highly recommend reading it!

I found the idea of a "parallel state" chilling and interesting! It seems as if crime always rises to power, whether it be welded to or in conjunction with the official government.

Here's the article. Would love to pick your brains, bright minds of ATS!

www.impunidad.dant.com...

Journalists murdered in 2017 in cases directly linked to their profession: 42 (down from 48 last year).
I bolded the above because the criteria to determine whether a murder is in direct retaliation for printed word is tough. More reporters were killed than that, in other words.
Reporters murdered in Mexico in 2017: 11. The trend for murdered journalists is rising in Mexico while decreasing worldwide.

Please take the time to read this article:
www.npr.org...

Another reporter may be added to Mexico's murdered list for 2017. On Tuesday, Gumaro Pérez Aguilando was killed in the state of Veracruz. The 35-year-old crime reporter was gunned down while attending a Christmas party at his son's elementary school.

Officials tried to hint that Pérez might be linked to criminals before the investigation even began! What an outrage!

My opinion is with the author of the linked article:

"The rise in the number of journalists murdered in Mexico in retaliation for their work is terrible news and suggests that the Mexican government has failed in its public commitments to end the culture of impunity," says Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists.

Thanks for reading.