Top journalist shares tips on unbiased reporting

JAKARTA (JP): Peter Arnett, an international correspondent of the Washington-based Cable News Network (CNN) television station, said yesterday that even the voice of the "bad guys" of the world should be heard.

The leading contemporary war correspondent told a luncheon of legislators, government officials and the press about the importance of balanced reporting and of understanding conflicting interests.

He gave various examples from his own experience.

Arnett, in town at the invitation of, among others, the RCTI private television station, said that his station's efforts to provide balanced reporting included interviewing those considered to be "the bad guys".

They should be allowed to give their side of the story and reveal the motivations behind their actions, he said.

He cited former Panama strongman Manuel Noriega and Serbian General Ratco Mladic as examples of leaders that he had interviewed for the sake of giving both-sides coverage. "By giving voice to enemies, we give even more voice to friends," he said.

During the yesterday's gathering, Arnett told of his interviews with Yasser Arafat, the leader of the PLO who used to be called a "terrorist", and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

He acknowledged that the medium he works for has been viewed with suspicion and has been accused of promoting the views of some groups at the expense of others.

He said that in Europe, for example, CNN has been called "imperialistic" and accused of assisting the American government's objectives.

"To some extent it's true", Arnett said, but added that, internationally, the station was not biased and covers world events objectively. "We cover both sides of an issue."

He said the station is so critical of the U.S. government that even President Bill Clinton "cries when he watches CNN."

As for himself, Arnett said his tendency to be cynical helps him maintain his journalistic perspective. "Ultimately, I am very cynical of politicians...(and) generals. I don't trust generals because of what they can do," he said.

However, "I do trust ordinary people...and value their judgment and views," he added.

Arnett is widely considered to be one of the world's leading war correspondents, having spent more than 35 years covering the world's war zones, from Vietnam to Baghdad.

Arnett started in the early 1960s as a correspondent for the Associated Press (AP) wire service and was posted in Jakarta. During this two-year stint he wrote many reports about the beginning of political upheavals which later brought about the downfall of Indonesia's first president Sukarno.

Arnett described Sukarno as "a journalist's dream" because he was open to the press, agreeable and friendly. "He was very accessible, very much available in terms of interviewing."

Arnett, who covered Sukarno's trip to some outer islands in the Indonesian archipelago, described the first president as a very charismatic leader and among the most interesting figures he had covered in his long journalistic career.

He said President Soeharto is someone who commands great respect and has a great standing in the United States. "He presides over a country that is one of the greatest economic success stories in the world," Arnett said.

Soeharto had also shown personal courage by going to Sarajevo, Arnett said, referring to Soeharto's trip to the war-ravaged capital of Bosnia Herzegovina in March.

"Indonesia today is the evidence of his presidency," Arnett said. (swe)