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U.S. journalists I don't think are very courageous. They tend to go along with the government's policy domestically and internationally. To question is seen as being unpatriotic, or potentially subversive.
Robert Fisk
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote critiques U.S. journalists for their lack of courage in questioning government policies, which is often viewed negatively.

Robert Fisk's quote highlights the tendency of U.S. journalists to align with government policies rather than challenge them. This conformity, driven by fear of being labeled unpatriotic or subversive, undermines journalistic integrity and the essential role of the press in holding power accountable. Fisk calls out this dynamic as a lack of courage within the journalism profession.

Themes

JournalismCourageGovernmentPatriotismIntegrity

In practice

Example use cases

During a journalism symposium to discuss the state of the media.

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In just one year in Bosnia, thirty of my colleagues died. There is a little Somme waiting for all innocent journalists.
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After the allied victory of 1918, at the end of my father's war, the victors divided up the lands of their former enemies. In the space of just seventeen months, they created the borders of Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia and most of the Middle East. And I have spent my entire career β€” in Belfast and Sarajevo, in Beirut and Baghdad β€” watching the people within those borders burn.
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