In Defense of Sawyer
How ironic that one of the few acts of journalistic responsibility in recent memory would come under fire from other “journalists” such as your Elizabeth Jensen, and that your newspaper would seek to add fuel to this fire (“Sawyer’s Absence Debated,” July 30).
The last thing the public needs is another journalist’s personal views or recollections thrust upon it. During the sad events of the past weeks surrounding the death of JFK Jr., the media, once again caught short of hard news but knowing they had a ratings bonanza at hand, had no problem finding people to fling themselves at the cameras in order to insinuate themselves into the event. Then Diane Sawyer, the one media person who has a truly close relationship with the deceased and his family, is vilified for not being willing to bare her soul for all to see (as if this constituted news in the first place).
When the news left the province of public service and went into the economic realm of ratings, we lost all hope of journalistic merit. But let’s not scold those few souls left in the field who attempt to maintain some level of dignity.
JAMES FOREMAN
Los Angeles
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Why shouldn’t a journalist mourn the death of a friend and thereby be unable to cover that story? The real problem exists when the friendships between journalists and the public figures they cover prevent the press from exposing the real news, news that exposes conflicts of interests, political contributions and resulting votes on issues that affect those contributors’ interests and other forms of legal bribery.
HELENE STONE
Ventura
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In J-school, I learned the classic lesson on conflict of interest: “I don’t care if you sleep with elephants, as long as you don’t cover the circus.”
If Diane Sawyer is close to the Kennedys, she would have had no right to cover their death as a reporter. She would, at the very least, have appeared to lack objectivity. Sawyer behaved with absolute propriety, and I’m appalled that any journalist would criticize her. Save the criticism for those reporters who flout ethical standards.
KAY M. GILBERT
Santa Monica