TELL ME NO LIES : Investigative Journalism and Its Triumphs

Edited by John Pilger Johnathon Cape London rrp $ 35

Reviewed by Peter Brokensha

This book is an impressive anthology of articles by no less that 28 of the worlds best investigative journalists who over the last 50 years have had the courage to expose injustice, wrongdoing and, above all, the abuse of power. Its release is most relevant at this time when leaders like Bush, Blair and Howard have made manipulating their constituents perceptions of events through misinformation and lies an art form.

These governments are exercising what Pilger in his introduction calls secretive power which he states ‘ loathes journalists who do their jobs :who push back screens, peer behind facades, lift rocks. Opprobrium from on high is their badge of honour.’

There is no better example of this than the way the Australian government demonised Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett and for years denied him a passport. As the first journalist to visit Hiroshima after the bomb he exploded the official American spin that civilians would not be affected by any radiation . His despatch to the London Daily Express is one of the many gems of reporting in the book.

Space does not permit listing all the powerful pieces of writing in the book such as Martha Gellhorn's 1945 description of the skeletons of Dachau ,Robert Fisk's account from the Baghdad mortuary , Seymour Herche’s account of the massacre at My Lai, Phillip Knightley’s account of the thalidomide scandal, Greg Palast’s account of how Bush stole the 2000 presidency, John Pilgers powerful piece on the duplicity and inhumanity of the British and American governments towards Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. Felicity Arbuthnot's account of cancer among Iraqi children from the use by the US of depleted uranium weapons and many more gripping articles.

This 600 page well referenced and indexed book is an engaging read. Well worth its $35 price tag it is a book to keep. After reading it we need to keep asking the question; what is happening now to the so called free press in those bastions of democracy, the USA , Britain and Australia and what can we do about it?

We know there is a host of recent examples where Bush, Blair and Howard’s army of spin doctors have misled the people about the truth of major events surrounding the Iraq war . Australia also ranks low on the scale of freedom of the press. It has the highest concentration of media ownership in the western world and while there are some occasional voices of dissent in the mainstream media they are drowned out by the roar of commercialism which generates mindless populist commercial television and ranting shock jocks.

It is left to the ABC and SBS who try with very limited government funds to provide at least some investigative journalism albeit under the watchful eye of the government which sees any criticism of its policies as unbalanced and disloyal

Pilger sees the best hope for the future lying in the growth of ‘unofficial ‘ media particularly the world wide web where a growing list of alternative news and discussion sites are attracting an audience of millions. ( e.g.www.commondreams.org ) Access to truthful news and balanced analysis in the long run will hopefully lead to more grass roots activism for political change and social justice.