[NOTE: I first published an earlier version of this essay on my personal blog roughly a year ago in early June 2021.]
In April 1977, Lowell Bergman and I were discussing how to form an investigative journalism organization in the wake of the demise of our muckraking unit inside Rolling Stone magazine.
Over the previous two years, at the magazine's headquarters down at 625 Third Street in Soma, we'd pulled together a half dozen or so reporters to pursue investigative stories, which had resulted in some good stories but also a ton of trouble.
Along with a bunch of awards, we had proven an ability to attract death threats and huge libel suits, among other forms of attention. We had both been unceremoniously dumped by editor-in-chief, publisher and owner Jann Wenner just before Christmas 1976 when he announced he would be taking the magazine to the east coast.
As a result, our new idea was to form a non-profit to continue that type of work in the Bay Area and Lowell brought an ally into the mix -- Dan Noyes, who he'd met in the "Arizona Project." That was a group investigation into the murder of journalist Don Bolles, which in turn led to the creation of another non-profit group, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE).
The three of us -- Bergman, Noyes and myself -- co-founded the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) later in 1977. A large group of friends helped us launch the organization and we settled into an office in downtown Oakland.
But back in April, we were still discussing just what such an organization should be, what it should do, what its essential identity should be.
Today, 45 years later, CIR and IRE have long been staples of the journalism world and we are all retired, working individually on what may become books. In that context, Lowell recently unearthed an old type-written letter he had sent to Dan that April. Dan and I had not yet met and Lowell wanted to introduce him to my thoughts on the subject.
"I talked with Weir --as expected he is enthusiastic. Interestingly, David presented the following perspective: (the group should have) two major groups of activity: publications and community involvement."
This old letter is basically one of the founding documents of CIR and is a prime example of why I spend so much energy beseeching people to preserve their journals, letters, notes and files whenever possible. Until Lowell sent a copy of it to me recently, I had absolutely no memory of having said those things.
But clearly I was envisioning not only a journalism organization but one that would attempt to root that work in the communities where we worked.
The Bay Area was our base. It was a region with deep contradictions -- idealism, activism and hope with violence, cynicism, and deeply entrenched reactionary media organizations, notably the old Hearst daily of that era, the San Francisco Examiner.
We couldn't know it at the time, but that same newspaper would be transformed by a talented group of our peers, including the heir to the Hearst publishing empire, Will Hearst III, into a great newspaper over the next few decades.
It also published some of our investigations.
So at CIR we participated in that transformation. (I also did personally as a member of the Examiner’s editorial board for a few years in the 1990s.) We also found our way into relationships with dozens of other media groups -- CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, 60 Minutes, 20/10, NPR, PBS, Frontline, Mother Jones, New West, New York, NHK, BBC, etc., here and around the world.
There were many ups and downs in the early years, including press conferences announcing libel suits and more death threats against us, but ultimately CIR survived and thrived. How that came to be is the story only the three of us can tell while we’re still here and sentient.
Old documents like the letter Lowell saved may help.
TODAY’s NEWS (5/30/22 — 32 stories from 18 sources):
Kamala Harris calls for 'assault weapons ban' in wake of Uvalde, Buffalo mass shootings (Fox)
As Shooting Continued, Officers Questioned Commander’s Decision to Wait (NYT)
In Uvalde, 90 minutes of terror, a failed police response, shattered trust (WP)
Police failure in Uvalde mass shooting: What we know (Axios)
Bipartisan Gun Negotiations Try to Overcome History of Failed Talks (WSJ)
Inside Mitch McConnell’s decades-long effort to block gun control (WP)
Massacres Test Whether Washington Can Move Beyond Paralysis (NYT)
Governors diverge on gun control, school security efforts (AP)
Activist confronts Ted Cruz after senator’s NRA speech (The Hill)
Gun in Texas Shooting Came From Company Known for Pushing Boundaries (NYT)
Republican congressman says he's 'open' to an AR-15 ban (CNN)
Fatalism over guns is killing America’s children (Edit Bd/Financial Times)
The Atrocity of American Gun Culture (New Yorker)
Russians storm city, shell east Ukraine as Zelenskyy visits (AP)
Russia squeezes Luhansk in ‘indescribably difficult’ battles, Zelensky says (WP)
Russian official: Moscow will not use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine (NHK)
Ukrainian defenders hold out in Donbas city under heavy fire (Reuters)
How a Facebook page for Irish setter lovers helped Ukrainians flee with their dogs (NPR)
Russian forces gain ground but Ukraine still holds Severodonetsk (NHK)
Allegations of industry influence rock mine safety commission (Politico)
China funnels its overseas aid money into political leaders’ home provinces (Guardian)
Israeli nationalists chant racist slogans in Jerusalem march (AP)
Clashes in Al-Aqsa mosque, skirmishes in streets during Israeli flag march (Reuters)
Christian nationalism on the rise in some GOP campaigns (AP)
We Got COVID Shots in One Year. Why Did a Malaria Vaccine Take 35? (Atlantic)
French jetpack inventor injured in lake crash (BBC)
Cincinnati Reds' Tommy Pham suspended three games for slapping San Francisco Giants' Joc Pederson (ESPN)
Critical fire condition warnings issued across US Southwest (AP)
Report: Mothers Not Paying Attention To 80% Of Cool Things Nation’s Boys Do (The Onion)
No comments:
Post a Comment