Independent journalist Dahr Jamail, whose new book Beyond the Green Zone is released this week, wonders why the corporate media ignores the vast crimes committed in our name:
“…Because the fact that I didn’t go to journalism school and hadn’t worked professionally as a journalist before, I think, worked to my advantage. And colleagues of mine, like Christian Parenti and Jeremy Scahill, have said the same thing. They said, “You’re doing the job the right way because you didn’t go to journalism school and because you’re not reporting for CNN, that you’re basically just going out and interviewing people and telling the truth.” And that’s really all there is to it; it’s not rocket science. There is no need for this type of formal training. It’s go out, learn the basic skills, and then tell the truth and tell what you see. And that’s the magic formula of what I did.
And if a guy like me, a mountain guide from Alaska, can get a laptop and a small digital camera and go to Iraq and start reporting on what’s happening and do things like break stories about home raids and torture and white phosphorus being used in Fallujah, then why can’t the corporate media, with their millions and millions of dollars and all the advanced high-tech equipment available to them, why can’t they do it? And that’s the unanswered question.
His reports from across the Middle East have been remarkable. From Iraq to Lebanon, Jamail proves that independent journalism can deliver accurate, passionate and important information.