SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 – With Afghanistan dominating headlines lately, when was the last mention of Iraq, Syria or . . . Myanmar? Thanks to the persistent, courageous journalism of one Emily Fishbein, I read and thought about Myanmar quite a lot late on Tuesday. That’s when I received Jeff O’s email containing a link to Ms. Fishbein’s recent article in Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/censorship-myanmar-coup-rock-free-speech-1215817/ .
On August 10 my wife and I joined Mike and JoAnne Fishbein—Emily’s parents—around the dinner table of our hosts, Jeff and Val (see 8/11/21 post). We’d heard about the Fishbeins from Jeff and Val, but during that delectable meal is when we got to know the close friends of our close friends. One of many rewards of that conversation was hearing about Emily Fishbein’s work as a freelance journalist, investigating and reporting life under the repressive regime that now rules Myanmar—a nation of over 100 ethnic groups and 54 million people, and in area, ranking 39th in the world (Afghanistan is 40th).
As we heard about Emily’s travails and perseverance, I was reminded of the vital and often unsung work of serious journalists around the world. These people are heroes, often endangering their safety to shed light on dark behavior that would otherwise remain hidden from public view. The rest of us can’t begin to contribute to change, directly or indirectly, if we’re not aware of what requires reform.
Emily’s hero status was elevated further by the fact that she’s an independent contractor. With consolidation of news organizations and upheaval of the business model followed by traditional journalism, job security for journalists has likewise vanished. As her parents explained, Emily’s efforts in finding remuneration are as relentless as the work of her journalism itself. She hasn’t the luxury of collecting a steady paycheck. She must create her own sporadic paychecks 100% from her own sweat equity—all so that from the comfort of our easy chairs, we consumers can be better informed about an ever smaller yet overwhelmingly complex world.
As I read Emily’s recent article in Rolling Stone, I was impressed by the clarity of her writing and the depth of her reporting. I was startled in equal proportion by my ignorance and obliviousness; my susceptibility to prioritizing “news” by how it has been prioritized for me by mainstream media . . . streams. What if I were to eschew my usual sources—and formats—and rely instead on a customized “aggregator”—not so much an “app” with built-in algorithms but a journalist who could seek and find the work of in-the-trench free-lancers like Emily? What if a business model could be developed free from advertising revenue but based on parity between the value of critical journalism and the value of informed citizenship?
After 20 years of heralding service members as heroes—and many of them were—we need to recognize (and pay!) heroes of another and equal sort: journalists like Emily Fishbein, working relentlessly, often under dangerous, unforgiving circumstances, to get the story out.
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© 2021 by Eric Nilsson
