Friday, February 22, 2008

Helen Thomas and Journalistic Principles

(UPDATE: Jon Stewart video--see below)
When Sun Myung Moon bought the struggling United Press International (UPI) wire service in 2000, Helen Thomas--UPI's chief White House correspondent who was spent 57 years at the company--promptly resigned her position. She didn't make a fuss--in contrast to Mike Royko who quit the Chicago Sun-Times when Rupert Murdoch acquired it, saying that "no self-respecting fish would be wrapped in a Murdoch paper." The other day, Thomas was a bit more outspoken about Moon's acquisition in an interview with Wonkette's Lauren Selsky:
Your reaction when you found out that the Saudis sold UPI to the Moonies?
I had seen what had happened to children and people of that cult. To work for them would have meant that I had to compromise my beliefs, which was something I could not do.

So you don’t believe Sun Myung Moon is the Messiah?
No.
UPDATE: If you enjoyed the Jon Stewart video on the Moon coronation, here's more: I found a hilarious video of a Daily Show episode from 2000 dealing with the Thomas/Moonie flap:

No comments: