By Joseph Honick

Some of my most exciting moments as a kid were watching movies where tough- talking reporters confronted crooked politicians and shady businessmen with questions that would lead the bums almost directly to prison.

These reporters and newspaper columnists would write grinding, demanding pieces that sparked investigations by the FBI, police, Congressional committees and other law enforcement agencies: Justice would seem to be served at the end of every movie, radio program and tv show.

It was thrilling. It was, if you will, "the American way!"

So where did those fiery-tongued fighters for truth and justice disappear? What happened to White House press conferences where it now seems the smooth talking presidential press secretary leads the media around by their noses to avoid having to answer potentially explosive questions, questions that never even get asked?

A book just released on the market exposes the existence of a sinister mercenary force known as Blackwater, apparently contracted to work for the United States not only in Iraq but, sit down for this one: on the streets of New Orleans. The author of this chilling account of just one taxpayer-contracted force is Jeremy Scahill. The publisher is Nation Books.

Excuse me, but can you think of any international military conflict to which we have committed our armed forces and our national reputation when we actually had to engage a second string military outfit to back us up?

If the people in any of the mercenary outfits were and are all that capable to fight some of our battles for us, why haven't they been made a part of our own military? Or could it be they are doing things we don't want to talk about or have anyone from Congress check…or is the collusion even worse than that?

Why have the media lambs failed to demand answers to these and other questions when the author of a hot new book could put it all down for a publisher?

In short, what is going on here? More importantly: what is not going on?

Just who or what is this outfit called Blackwater? How on earth could at least one reasonably gutsy reporter fail to find out about its existence and deployment paid for by taxpayers and who runs the outfit? Why did it take a tough investigative writer to produce a lengthy book of documented information that should have filled the pages of the daily papers, tv and the blogs?

It turns out that Blackwater is only one of numerous such private organizations operating in Iraq, even providing security for our own generals, a job we thought our own military did.

In another hardly investigated area, world media mogul Rupert Murdoch who just bought the powerful and respected Wall Street Journal was quoted some months ago as saying the more than 3,000 American lives lost in Iraq were a "minute" number, as in not so many. Did you see any media scramble to question such a comment?

And this is the short list of questions that not only don't get answered; they just don't get asked at the patty-cake press conferences at the White House and elsewhere.

You might have thought that, after the numerous exposes from Watergate to Abramoff, the reporters who cover Washington and the world might have been emboldened to press for answers.

The media lambs have been silenced. And inquiring minds damned well want to know why. The problem is there is hardly anyone to ask all these questions.

What we can take from this inexcusable situation are the following at least:

1. Reporters are afraid to dig deeply into too many questionable areas.

2. Moguls who control our media channels, print and otherwise, don't want those questions raised or the answers reported (as the late William Randolph Hearst used to do).

3. A lazy and apathetic electorate doesn't care to raise those questions.

4. All of the above.

Whatever the reasons for this clog-up of truthful information and mockery of the public's right to know, it cannot be denied any longer. Those responsible for fogging the public's right to access should be pressured to do their jobs or make their living doing something else.

Will anyone care enough join this crusade, or will public and professional apathy continue to be the greatest barrier to truth? If the media lambs stay silent, it is an old axiom as to the fate of such creatures.

What happens then?

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Joe Honick is president of Bainbridge Island, Wash.-based GMA International Ltd, the consulting and public relations firm he formed in 1975 to help companies broaden their business abroad especially in China and Japan. He also contributes to a variety of publications on public policy issues.

Wes Pedersen, Principal, Wes Pedersen Communications and Public Relations (8/24):
Okay, Joe, you're probably right about journalists who aren't anxious to take the woes of the commercial and political worlds these days. But you may have missed a chunk of the story here: Blackwater is, as you say, published by Nation Books. Nation Books is an operation of the Nation Institute.

Check out the other titles published recently by this outfit. Attacks on George Bush and O'Reilly don't indicate much affinity for right-wing fanatacism.

Let us know what you find out, Joe.

Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd responds (8/24):
To Wes Pederson: I am clearly aware of the political bent of the pubolisher and the writer, neither of which alter one bit the reality of such organizations and their questionable existence. Nor does any other connection with right or left alter the basic premise that reporters failing to do the job of sufficiently questioning the power structure, no matter what party or group is in that power. Blackwaters is but one example of something that should have been examined a long time ago. Wes, I wonder if you were similarly concend when we knew of the etiology of the fols who went after Kerry. All of it demands examination.

The relevant point of my piece is the inadequacy of reportorial investigation, not whether a book comes from the right or left. I have also read books coming from the opposite direction with Ollie North claiming all sorts of things that ought to have followup. Unless Wes can claim that groups like Blackwater, Raymond Associates and other similar outfits are just wonderful outfits operatingina theater of war, questions need to be asked.

Wes Pedersen, Principal, Wes Pedersen Communications and Public Relations responds (8/24):
I wasn't defending George Bush, for the Good Lord's sake, nor Blackwater, nor the swine who gutted John Kerry and a string of other honored and honorable individuals. I've been a liberal of sorts for decades, but I've voted for Republicans who seemed qualified for the White House. My intended point was simple: If the moneybags who is financing Blackwater is a rightwing Christian, his organization has chosen an unusual publisher to spread the gospel of righteous affiliation with auxiliary armed forces.

Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd responds (8/24):
I didn't mean this to be a dialogue with Wes, though he is an excellent partner. Wes, the fact is that moneybags from Blackwater did not at all help to get the story out. My major disappointment here seems that I have not adequately made the point that reporters need to ask more questions and not be cowed by establishments, private or public.

As to Ron Levy's point [see below] about protecting our troops, as one who had about 14 years of Regular Army and Reserve time, I have always known and believed that our troops protect themselves.

Ron Levy (8/24):
Some journalists aren't lambs but are wolves in sheep's clothing--a menace to the CEO, who may be as trusting as Little Red Riding Hood, who does an interview hoping the report will make grandma happy while the wolf hopes to bite Red in the worst way and devour her.

Bright Joe Honick talks about the public's "right to know" but the public has no such right except as provided by law--and sometimes doesn't WANT to know. Many people put a higher priority on privacy than on knowing about others--and are happy that someone else should know about a problem and "take care of it."

I can't make out why PR Honcho [below] has it in for Blackwater's president being "a wealthy far right Christian idealist." Being wealthy seems okay and many of us aspire to that. Christian idealists are okay. I don't know their religion but Harold Burson and David Finn are certainly idealists. Even Jack O'Dwyer who assails those he feels need assailing--Jack is an idealist.

Is far right bad? I'm not far anything, and all the years of writing for almost anyone who pays makes me start out neutral on most questions, but I guess far right people are as good as those who aren't so long as they don't impose their beliefs on you. (If they do, then it's the attempted imposition, not the beliefs that are the problem.)

Christians--even far right Christians--should have as much right to charge for their work as other people do, and if there's something wrong with getting paid for helping America's war effort, quite a few million Americans are guilty. I don't think we are.

War is dangerous and horrible. But it's more dangerous and horrible to lose than to win, so I'm personally grateful to people of any religion who help protect our troops and our country. When someone complains that PR is expensive, I point out that even when cost seems high, it's usually more economical to win than to lose. The same is vastly more true of war.

Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd responds (8/24):
Response to Ron Levy: The public has an absolute right to know what is being done in its name and with its money by its government just short of information that might endanger security.

Even that kind of restraint has to be carefully weighed lest it be used promiscuously to cover up governmental blunders or misuse of power. I suggest you also look up the Carlyle Group in regard to such matters.

PR Honcho (8/23):
Joe, it will be no surprise to learn that the founder of Blackwater, Erik Prince, is a wealthy far right wing Christian idealist with strong GOP and White House ties. That a man who follows Christ's teachings is involved in an enterprise that makes money making war is just one of many mysteries surrounding this outfit.

As for an apathetic public and a cowed and lazy press, how else to explain the Dubya? You get the government you deserve, right?

Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd responds (8/24):
A note to PRHoncho...I know well who runs Blackwater, but you should know this outfit has a lot of competition out there in Iraq fighting for our taxpayer dollars, and the astonishment is how few seem to care that we have these auxiliary armies doing things our miitary would go to jail for...and the reality further that day to day reporters are failing miserably in not asking questions and demanding answers to this situation as well as fending off some of the nonsense that says the financial market is really honkey dorey as some of our PR colleagues are selling.

Bottom line is what I tried to spark discussion on: what happened to a courageous press and why? We may always get the government we deserve but not the government the nation deserves.

Wes Pedersen, Principal, Wes Pedersen Communications and Public Relations 8/28):
Thank you, PR Honcho. You've made my point eminently clear to Joe, I see.