In the Name of Justice: The Television Reporting of John Pilger - Softcover

Hayward, Anthony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747558981 ISBN 13: 9780747558989

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2002

Synopsis

Australian-born, British-based journalist, John Pilger, has covered many of the world's major upheavals and his films have celebrated the victories of ordinary people against authority. They represent more than a quarter of a century of history, from the United States's war in Vietnam to the aftermath of Pol Pot's Cambodia; from repression in Czechoslovakia, East Timor and Burma, to continuing discrimination against the Aborigines in Australia. Throughout thirty years of documentary-making justice and human struggle have remained recurring themes. Now Anthony Hayward examines the journalist and his long career on the small screen, He details all the programmes, their effects and controversies, compares them with TV's other factual output and discovers how John Pilger defies the broadcasters' conventional notions of 'impartiality' and 'balance' to present a truth that is often unpalatable to authority.

About this title

Review:

In the Name of Justice chronicles Johns Pilger's investigative campaigns over nearly 30 years. A true hero amongst journalists, Pilger is one of the few who have defined the trade as a tool for justice and for change. His work has often been a sole beam of illumination into atrocities that governments have tried to conceal from the world. One of the first newsmen to reveal the truth about Vietnam, Pilger's reports exposed America's profligate disregard for the lives of both of the Vietnamese people and its own soldiers. Together with US newsmen such as Walter Cronkite, he was instrumental in rallying public opposition to the war. However, it was his documentary 'Cambodia Year Zero', which, of all his investigations, had perhaps the most critical effect on the public. In it, he exposed for the first time the genocide committed by Pol Pot and the part the West had played in bringing him to power. By the time Year Zero was aired, Cambodia was on the brink of total collapse. The devastating scenes of suffering shocked viewers, who responded with millions of dollars in aid. Typically, Pilger continued to follow the nation's progress and, in further programmes, to condemn Thatcher's ongoing support for the Khmer Rouge in its renamed incarnations. It is this tireless passion for justice that hallmarks all of Pilger's campaigns. Reading this book will reinforce your faith in the power of the determined individual to change opinions, save lives and change governments. Stirring, enlightening stuff.--Rebecca Johnson

Review:

'A fascinating account of the changing nature of censorship on television' -- The Independent

'An excellent account of Pilger's work ... shows how his sensibility to justice and injustice has changed public policy and saved lives' -- Variety

'An excellent introduction to abuses of power around the world. Cuts through the established view to get to the guts of the story' -- Far Eastern Economic Review

'Hayward examines not just Pilger's reporting but the powerful and lasting impact it has had. This is a fitting tribute and a fine work' -- Manchester Evening News

'John Pilger has taken on the great theme of justice and injustice ... he belongs to an old and unending worldwide company, them men and women of conscience' -- Martha Gellhorn

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0747558981
• ISBN 13: 9780747558989
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416