Skip to Main Content

The Inconvenient Journalist: A Memoir

Online ISBN:
9781501759109
Print ISBN:
9781501759093
Publisher:
Cornell University Press
Book

The Inconvenient Journalist: A Memoir

Published online:
20 January 2022
Published in print:
15 September 2021
Online ISBN:
9781501759109
Print ISBN:
9781501759093
Publisher:
Cornell University Press

Abstract

This book describes how one February night crystalized the values and personal risks that shaped the life of the author of this book. The frigid Moscow night in question was in 1984, and the author, a Washington Post correspondent, reported signs that Soviet leader Yuri Andropov had died. The CIA at first dismissed the reporting, saying that “Doder must be smoking pot.” When Soviet authorities confirmed Andropov's death, journalists and intelligence officials questioned how a lone reporter could scoop the multibillion-dollar US spy agency. The stage was set for Cold War-style revenge against the journalist. After emigrating to the United States from Yugoslavia in 1956, the author committed himself to the journalist's mission. He knew that reporting the truth could come at a price, something driven home by his years of covering Soviet dissidents and watching his Washington Post colleagues break the Watergate story. Still, he was not prepared for a cloaked act of reprisal from the CIA. Taking aim at the author, the CIA insinuated a story into Time magazine suggesting that he had been co-opted by the KGB. His professional world collapsed and his personal life was shaken as he fought Time in court. In this book, the author reflects on this attempt to destroy his reputation, his dedication to reporting the truth, and the vital but precarious role of the free press today.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close