On
Friday January, 21 one of America's greatest journalists
passed away, John L. Hess. He was 87, but an active 87; for
this reason his
death came as a surprise.
For those of us who read his blog (http://johnlhess.blogspot.com)
his frequent, short, and topical updates were one of the pleasures
of the week. He had a way of looking at the news and cutting
to what was important.
Although John was a journalist by profession, which often
carries with it vague notions of objectivity, he considered
truth his first obligation; he understood that power was often
the greatest obstacle to truth, and as a result his sympathies
were always with the poor, the invisible, the mistreated.
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Even the issue of food and restaurants —
he was the New York Times food critic for a spell —
carried political baggage. In one of the last entries on his
blog he wrote:
"Considering the rents in midtown, what can they be paying
the help? I think of dishwashers earning less for 40 hours
of hard work than the $500 the Times is enchanted to pay for
its four-star tasters. And their workers have to schlep home
to wherever they can find shelter -- with rent controls going
up and the MTA panting to raise fares and cut service."
We didn't know John but wish we had met him. When at Inversion
we recently wrote a column blasting the New York Times' ridiculous
and disparate treatment of two scandals, Jayson Blair and
Judith Miller, Hess was the first person we thought of. We
knew that more than anyone else Hess would have appreciated
the piece and the point. After all, the Times had no critic
more severe than Hess. Recently he wrote this about the election
in Venezuela:
"There was no way for the average Yankee to realize what
a triumph for democracy the vote in Venezuela has been. Our
embedded media has been blowing spitballs at Hugo Chavez since
he came to power. In one if the most disgraceful episodes
in the history of the New York Times, it hailed the announcement
of a coup that locked him up and kicked out the constitution,the
national assembly and the supreme court. Its joy lasted less
than two days, when an outpouring of the mostly poor majority
turned things around."
About our recent election Hess brilliantly observed the following,
also showing that facing up to ugly reality doesn't mean trading
in optimism:
"I'm reminded of the years of Reagan and the elder Bush.
They were loaded with impeachable crimes — pre-emptive
wars — trading with the enemy — perjury —
assaults on Social Security and Medicare — a transfer
of the tax burden from the rich to working people. The Democrats
lost Congress and quite a few state houses and city halls.
But we survived. Trouble is, many people weren't paying attention,
or forgot, and we went on to blow our next chances in the
Clinton years. But there was a chance - there always is one.
Look at the Red Sox. Go for it, Boston."
And about that most topical of issues, Social Security reform,
he wrote:
"Social Security is not an insurance plan — it's
a social compact. We agreed, as members of the human family
to care for all who needed it ... The very fact that they
talk of saving Social Security reflects how precious it is.
People will march to save it — I promise."
We hope he is right. He often was.
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