WASHINGTON POST'S MANAGING EDITOR SPEAKS HIS MIND
By Michelle Malkin
March 11, 2005 06:41 AM
The Washington Post's managing editor, Philip Bennett, gave a fascinating interview to People's Daily Online, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Chinese regime.
Assuming Bennett's remarks were correctly transcribed (and there is a significant possibility that they were not), it seems fair to say he has bad feelings about the Bush Administration, which he says deliberately lied about WMDs in Iraq and is excessively secretive.
He can't define democracy, but whatever it is he disputes the notion that it's advancing in Iraq.
He doesn't seem to place much value in freedom of the press, as evidenced by his enthusiasm about the idea of working as a journalist in China, which routinely censors web sites and news.
He is darn sure that America shouldn't lead the world.
On the other hand, he is quite fond of China and its leaders.
He didn't go so far as to accuse U.S. troops of deliberately killing journalists a la Eason Jordan, but once again the anti-American mindset comes through loud and clear.
I've included some highlights below, but read the whole thing.
Bennett's views on democracy:
<<<
Democracy means many things. How do you define democracy? As a Chinese journalist, you may have your own definition of democracy which corresponds to your history and your way of seeing the world. I may have another definition. Someone else may have their own definitions. Democracy means a lot of different things.
>>>
On the failure of democracy (whatever that means) to advance in Iraq despite the country's first free, multi-party election in more than 50 years:
<<<
One of the jobs of our correspondents in Baghdad is to tell our readers what the Bush administration is trying to hide. Bush says democracy is advancing in Iraq, but our correspondents say the situation there is much more complex than that.
>>>
On the similarity of the roles of the press in the U.S. and China:
<<<
We receive a lot of criticism from the government for presenting views of events which are in odds with what they are trying to present. This is very important in our system and it is one of the fundemental roles of the press.
We have seen that similar roles of the press are developing in China as media expose corruption. In any system corrupt officials are trying to cover bad things up. We may look at the press coverage of issues like SARS epidemic. At the very beginning there were efforts to cover things up. [MM notes: Chinese government officials reportedly locked up some 100 people for "spreading rumors" or "false information" about SARS over the Internet.] But then the news came out everywhere through the press and even the textmessaging. Then the government was forced to admit what happened. This role is quite similar with the role we are trying to play here in the United States.
Of course, we have a lot of limitations on our ability to do that. The government of the US is becoming much more secretive, much more hostile to the press in terms of giving us access to the information. So a lot of what we do here is to fight for access to the information that we think the public should have. That takes a lot of our energy and resources.
>>>
On being a journalist in China:
<<<
If I were a young journalist today, figuring out where I should go to make my career, I would go to China.... I think China is the best place in the world to be an American journalist right now.
>>>
On whether the Bush Administration deliberately lied about WMDs in Iraq:
<<<
As you said, we are not aggressive enough in challenging and testing the statements the government is making. For me, this episode [the administration's claims that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq] is a good example of how difficult it is to independently verify the government's claims when the government is lying to you.
>>>
On America's role in world affairs:
<<<
I don't think US should be the leader of the world.... I also think it is unhealthy to have one country as the leader of the world. People in other countries don't want to be led by foreign countries. They may want to have good relations with it or they may want to share with what is good in that country.
>>>
On China's leaders:
<<<
I was very impressed by the degree of preparation, engagement, knowledge and vision that they have of China and China's role in the world.
>>>
Bennett is the Post's second-highest-ranking editor. He is likely to become the Post’s executive editor when Leonard Downie, Jr., retires, probably in a few years.
(Hat tip: reader Mark Laflamme.)
Related: Whitewashing Red China's record
jewishworldreview.com
Update, 9:29 am: Revised the title of the post (yes, I thought better of calling him the "Post's Eason Jordan"), reduced the length of some of the excerpts, and bold-faced a few of Bennett's more provocative statements.
michellemalkin.com
news.scotsman.com
web.amnesty.org
english.peopledaily.com.cn |
