Reza, and doing your job(s)
Living in the DC metro area means that often I have the opportunity to see a lot of incredible photojournalists present their work. A couple nights back at the National Geographic headquarters, I had the opportunity to see Reza, and his presentation promoting his retrospective book, War + Peace.
I only knew a little of his work, before his presentation. He has spent the better part of his life either photographically or directly working, as part of the UN, in regions devastated by war. And his work is truly wonderful…and sad.
Seeing his work, and hearing his stories truly made me reflect on how fortunate I am, and how fortunate we are, as a nation. Despite the economic meltdown, we live in a country where we have access to the basic needs. Most of us, that is. There are those that live in the margins. And I started to think of them as Reza talked. But nothing I could think of could approach what these people in Afghanistan have been through in the past 25 years.
Or the people of Sarajevo, during the Bosnian War. Reza showed a photo of a young girl standing on the city streets, with a small table topped by a variety of dolls. He explains it here in his own words (look for the photo at the bottom of the page).
He started up a program in Afghanistan, called AINA to “…promote independent media development and cultural expression as a foundation of democracy…” (http://www.ainaworld.org/).
After the talk, I tried reflecting on what I’d seen. And finally I received the largest jolt of perspective…I got home, and on TV was “The Housewives of Orange County”. Wow. I can’t believe such dreck is actually on TV.
The “reality” stars chatted while drinking champagne outside in a rooftop restaurant in Orange County. Then they were shown spending several hundreds of dollars on pedicures and facials…etc. at a spa. The obvious contrast between what I had seen a half hour earlier and what I was watching now was so stark, and ridiculous.
Yes, some Americans are fat and happy. And apparently America enjoys watching rich, spoiled and rotten people behave like idiots. But I still happen to think this country is the best country in the world. No country, I think, does a better job of trying to make the world a better place. Much of that, I believe, is because of the job the media does. Yes, that “liberal” media.
Sebastian Junger, author of “The Perfect Storm”, and also someone who has worked numerous times with Reza in Afghanistan, answered questions with Reza after the presentation. A woman stood up and asked about the US media, their responsiblities, and whether they’ve been doing a good enough job. But how do you know some media outlets are missing part of a story or are neglecting others? You know this because other media outlets point this out. There are enough sources (especially when you consider the internet, despite the unease over the accuracy), that any information can be had, and anything can be fact checked or investigated. The recognition of the perceived “problem” requires a transparent press to be able to perceive the problem in the first place. Junger pointed this out, and I believe it to be quite valid.
But I continue…the “Housewives…” were on the television, and I was disgusted, but then I was thankful for the stark contrast that drove the point home.
I recently spent time covering a variety of campaign events prior to the election. Only because of scheduling conflicts and an apparent aversion to Northern Virginia by the GOP, I couldn’t see a McCain rally until a week before the election. Before anyone got up to speak the crowd took turns chanting different cute rhymes, like “use your brain, vote Mac-cain”. At one point they turned a bit sour on the gathered press in the risers. People like me as well as people like CNN or FoxNews. This time the cute rhymes were “DO YOUR JOB”, and, “TELL THE TRUTH”.
I only knew a little of his work, before his presentation. He has spent the better part of his life either photographically or directly working, as part of the UN, in regions devastated by war. And his work is truly wonderful…and sad.
Seeing his work, and hearing his stories truly made me reflect on how fortunate I am, and how fortunate we are, as a nation. Despite the economic meltdown, we live in a country where we have access to the basic needs. Most of us, that is. There are those that live in the margins. And I started to think of them as Reza talked. But nothing I could think of could approach what these people in Afghanistan have been through in the past 25 years.
Or the people of Sarajevo, during the Bosnian War. Reza showed a photo of a young girl standing on the city streets, with a small table topped by a variety of dolls. He explains it here in his own words (look for the photo at the bottom of the page).
He started up a program in Afghanistan, called AINA to “…promote independent media development and cultural expression as a foundation of democracy…” (http://www.ainaworld.org/).
After the talk, I tried reflecting on what I’d seen. And finally I received the largest jolt of perspective…I got home, and on TV was “The Housewives of Orange County”. Wow. I can’t believe such dreck is actually on TV.
The “reality” stars chatted while drinking champagne outside in a rooftop restaurant in Orange County. Then they were shown spending several hundreds of dollars on pedicures and facials…etc. at a spa. The obvious contrast between what I had seen a half hour earlier and what I was watching now was so stark, and ridiculous.
Yes, some Americans are fat and happy. And apparently America enjoys watching rich, spoiled and rotten people behave like idiots. But I still happen to think this country is the best country in the world. No country, I think, does a better job of trying to make the world a better place. Much of that, I believe, is because of the job the media does. Yes, that “liberal” media.
Sebastian Junger, author of “The Perfect Storm”, and also someone who has worked numerous times with Reza in Afghanistan, answered questions with Reza after the presentation. A woman stood up and asked about the US media, their responsiblities, and whether they’ve been doing a good enough job. But how do you know some media outlets are missing part of a story or are neglecting others? You know this because other media outlets point this out. There are enough sources (especially when you consider the internet, despite the unease over the accuracy), that any information can be had, and anything can be fact checked or investigated. The recognition of the perceived “problem” requires a transparent press to be able to perceive the problem in the first place. Junger pointed this out, and I believe it to be quite valid.
But I continue…the “Housewives…” were on the television, and I was disgusted, but then I was thankful for the stark contrast that drove the point home.
I recently spent time covering a variety of campaign events prior to the election. Only because of scheduling conflicts and an apparent aversion to Northern Virginia by the GOP, I couldn’t see a McCain rally until a week before the election. Before anyone got up to speak the crowd took turns chanting different cute rhymes, like “use your brain, vote Mac-cain”. At one point they turned a bit sour on the gathered press in the risers. People like me as well as people like CNN or FoxNews. This time the cute rhymes were “DO YOUR JOB”, and, “TELL THE TRUTH”.
It annoyed me then, and it annoys me now to think about it. Because the reality is that the press did their job. And the fact that Obama was viewed more favorably by the press is simply because he ran a better campaign. He spoke better. He had better ideas (or maybe he presented them more clearly). But let’s be clear, he didn’t really win because of this. He won because the general public does not like Bush, and they blame him for our woes. But that’s for another blog.
I bring this up, because the press does their job. There has never been more information out there than now. We are doing our job. To those of you who shouted for us to do our job and tell the truth: you are not doing your job. Your job is to inform yourself. Our job is to present the information. Watching Reza speak about war was as clear a reminder as I could imagine illustrating that point.
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