Top journalist shares tips on unbiased reporting

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)