At the beginning of the year, I decided to apply for a place on a investigative journalism course. I knew I wanted to do it, I had as much journalism-related work experience I could cram on my CV. Yet if you asked me to name a prolific journalist, the only response you would get from me is an awkward smile and a shrug. Maybe it was time to do some background reading.
Admittedly, it was pretty much a type-in-‘investigative journalism book’-in-Amazon-search job. And that was when I stumbled across John Pilger’s ‘Tell Me No Lies.’ It is an anthology of investigative journalism across the decades, starting with Martha Gellhorn’s ‘Dachau’ (1945) to ‘Covering Islam and Terrorism’ (1997/2002) by Edward W. Said. And it’s brilliant. It’s the most powerful book I’ve ever read.
Each extract is engaging and special in its own right, and it’s difficult for me to say which are the ‘highlights’ of the book (I’m aware that sounds cliché). It’s an anthology where you need to invest time in every extract, to really think and appreciate the risks and dangers that each journalist put themselves through: one must appreciate how the journalists risked their lives when reporting from war torn countries; one must appreciate how journalists risked their jobs when they had to fight against internal and external pressures to write what was really going on; one must appreciate the risk of ostracism when journalists uncovered truths that were so controversial no one wanted to hear them.
Throughout the book there is this strong determination to tell the truth, as well as giving the powerless a voice, and this is what all journalists should aspire to.
I would really recommend the book to those who are about to pursue journalism. John Pilger has a fantastic website for those who are interested, and I would highly recommend watching Year Zero.
Tags: Investigative Journalism, John Pilger, Journalism, Tell Me No Lies
