I like journalists. Some of my best friends, etc. But let's not pretend they're latter-day Arthurian heroes. They pursue the corrupt and the dangerous because the chase excites them: the Twin Towers as atrocity and aphrodisiac. That isn't to say that when journalists uncover social, political or personal abuses, their interest isn't altruistic. Time and again they will put themselves on the line. But it's important to remember the framework within which they do that.
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| The write stuff? |
On the Record is a romanticised look at power journalists whose uncovering of high level corruption has brought them international acclaim. Using their own words and mock-ups, it explores the personal risks taken to expose wrongs against others, most terribly in the case of Sri Lankan newspaper editor, Lasantha Wickrematunga, shot dead for challenging the political elite. In the wake of Murdochgate, it's important to celebrate those journalists who change lives for the better, but this play borders on veneration. Celebrated US photographer, Zoriah Miller insisted on snapping blown off bits of US
marines. Do we need shots of dismembered hands to know what's happening in Iraq is untenable?
The audience bought the piety, and the serious critics like it too, so maybe my former-hack eyes are too jaundiced to judge properly. And maybe if the cast had managed to get the accents right, or to keep the wrong accents consistent, it wouldn't have been so irritating. The journos got books and blogs and paycheques for their crusades. What did the victims of the wrongdoers get, I wonder?
In conclusion: Subscribing to Amnesty and reading The Guardian is a more reliable way of staying abreast of journalistic endeavour. If it's the process of investigation that's of interest, watch
All the Presidents Men and
The Killing Fields.
References
Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph
Arcola Theatre
Its easy to be cynical about journalism, especially when confronted by News of the World phone-hacking, PR-dominated press and broadcasters mouthing meaningless platitudes. But, in the age of Wikileaks and Twitter, I found On The Record a powerful blast from the past, reminding us that the old-fashioned work of uncovering facts that challenge the powerful is a dangerous, but yes romantic, business. It also reminds us that the heroes of journalism aren't the John Simpsons or Nick Robinsons. Instead they are the local Pakistani reporters covering the Taliban. I agree, maybe a little balance was required somewhere in the script, but don;t think these guys are laughing all the way to the bank as you say.
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