Mike Wallace, Peter Jennings Admit They Would Help Enemy Kill U.S. Soldiers To "Get Story!"

Fred Friendly seminars ^ | Mike Wallace

[MindBender26]

This is not new, but deserves re-telling

A few years ago, Peter Jennings, Mike Walace, Gen Westmoreland (Ret.) and about a dozen others participated in a PBS round table discussion of American media covering the war. Dan Rather was not there.

In this program, Mike Wallace admitted that he would let American soldiers die so he could "get the story." He later described the event to Charlie Gibson.

- - - Start Mike Wallace interview with Charlie Gibson. - - - -

"It was one of those Fred Friendly seminars on television and the hypothetical (question) was that Jennings, Wallace, got the opportunity to go out on patrol with .. a North Vietnamese patrol in the Vietnam war .. with a camera crew and so forth. All of a sudden about 150 yards away, they suddenly realized there's a South Vietnamese patrol coming and with them maybe half a dozen American advisors.

"Now here you are. You're an American, you're a reporter, you've finally gotten the opportunity to cover this story, and suddenly you see South Vietnamese and more important ... Americans there too. The questioner, Charlie Ogletree, a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School .. said to Mr. Jennings, "Peter, what do you do?" Peter thought for a full 10 or 15 seconds and then said, "Well, I'd probably lose my life for doing it, but I would call, I would shout, and I would warn my American countrymen what was about to happen to them, that they were about to walk into an ambush."

"Charlie turns to me. "Mr. Wallace, what about yourself?" Well, I am a contrarian by nature. Mind you, this is live on tape, and it's going to be broadcast and you're thinking oh, come on. I say, "I'm a reporter. I'm a reporter here to cover this story." It didn't occur to me at that moment that I'd undoubtedly get killed the way that Jennings thought he was going to get killed if he were to shout. But when you are covering a story of that nature or any nature, what are you first? You are, in my estimation, a reporter."

"Incidentally, I was sitting beside, on the panel, General William Westmoreland who looked at me like a hair in his soup."

"Jennings listened to me and said, 'You know something? I'm sorry I didn't think it through correctly. Mike was right. We are reporters first."

---- end of Mike Wallace interview - - -

Mike Wallace went on to say " I'm not an American first, I'm a reporter first.

[johnb838]

Well, we did bust off that tank round into the Al-Jizz office in B-diddy during the invasion. Should'a done a lot more of that IMO.

And in the current conflict there's been way too much telling the reporters be at a certain place at a certain time and then have it be an ambush. IOW, what these joiks were discussing has been happening all too frequently.

[lancer]

Is this the same guy on FNS?

This is Mike Wallace. His son, Chris, is on FNS.

[Wolverine]

Jennings really is a coward..

 

Excerpt

 

"I'm a little bit at a loss to understand why, because you're an American, you would not have covered that story." Ogletree pushed Wallace. Didn't Jennings have some higher duty, either patriotic or human, to do something other than just roll film as soldiers from his own country were being shot? "No," Wallace said flatly and immediately. "You don't have a higher duty. No. No. You're a reporter!" Jennings backtracked fast. Wallace was right, he said. "I chickened out." Jennings said that he had gotten so wrapped up in the hypothetical questions that he had lost sight of his journalistic duty to remain detached. As Jennings said he agreed with Wallace, everyone else in the room seemed to regard the two of them with horror.

[2rightsleftcoast]

You got that right. Your article brings up something I have been wondering every time we see footage of the terrorists in Irag. If we have footage of guys shooting at our soldiers and innocent people, hiding behind buildings with rpg's etc., Why aren't they dead!!! Who is taking the pictures and why aren't our soldiers allowed to KILL THEM!!!
I think all the tv crews in Irag are putting our soldiers in danger. Excuse the rant.

[XBob]

1 - "This is not a joke or urban legend. The video is available. "

Very true, I remember seeing it originally several years ago, and it blew my mind and any respect for the media.

[Ann Archy]

I have seen this "Roundtable...Ethics in America...or maybe it's Journalism in America...anyway I've seen this show at least two times....and I STILL can't believe Mike Wallace!!! He is DESPICABLE!! And the Military man on the show practically said so!!

I have Also seen a Mike Wallace Auto-biography on TV...maybe celebrating like 50 years on TV or something.....in his OWN words, Mike Wallace is saying to the Ayatollah Khomeni.."Ayaltollak, these words are not mine, but Anwar Sadat....he thinks you are insane!...and a few days later the Ayatollahs men assassinated Sadat". I SWEAR this is ALMOST the excat words!! Hetold the Ayatollah what sadat thought of him so the Ayatollah HAD to save face and have Sadat murdered!! Can you or Any Freeper find the show?? It was Mike Wallace talking about Mike Wallace!! <P.Mike Wallace is DESPICABLE!!

[Ann Archy]

Jenninhs CHANGED his mind after Mike Wallace said he was a Journalist FIRST....so then Jennigs said Oh Yeah.

[No Surrender No Retreat]

Westmoreland should have knocked that kommie's teeth out and brain-dead stomped him into the promise land. Oh Hell!! he should have kicked that Kommie cracker to sleep. We should all be Americans first, last and always anything less is totally unacceptable. Bush/Cheney 2004

[MindBender26]

The USMC O-6 just about did. Westy is too much of a gentleman, and it might have gotten blood on his dress whites. Abrams would have been in fatigues, and kicked his ass.