I was struck tonight, as I watched a fuzzy video of the Center for Investigative Reporting's 25th anniversary celebration back in 2002, by Molly Ivins's deep personal identification with what we at CIR had always tried to do.
I scribbled down a few of her comments as Master of Ceremonies that evening:
"Progressives are thought of as terminally earnest...(but) if we couldn't laugh, we'd go insane." Molly jokes her way through the event that night, some of them delivered so fast in her droll Texas drawl that the audience has trouble keeping up with her.
But laughter erupts again and again. She is skewering the mainstream press, politicians, and anyone else within range, with an unerring sense of deadly precision.
But, she also is cognizant that young journalists are present, presumably idealistic and fresh-faced. To them, she is momentarily earnest: "Yes, you can make a difference." But, then, she adds, "The best way you can learn [to become a good reporter] is to listen to older journalists sitting around in bars..."
Finally, she turns on herself: "You know, I've spent my whole life being obnoxiously cheerful." An unabashed optimist. That's who Molly Ivins really was.
We need more like her. Let's hope some of the journalists from the next generation were listening as well.
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