Ben-hur Haig Bagdikian (January 30, 1920 – March 11, 2016) was an
Armenian-American journalist, news media critic and commentator, and university professor.
An
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
survivor, Bagdikian moved to the United States as an infant and began a journalism career after serving in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He worked as a local reporter, investigative journalist and foreign correspondent for ''
The Providence Journal
''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...
''. During his time there, he won a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
and a
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
. In 1971, he received parts of the ''
Pentagon Papers'' from
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American political activist, and former United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the ''Pent ...
and successfully persuaded ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' to publish them despite objections and threats from the
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
administration. Bagdikian later taught at the
University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and served as its dean from 1985 to 1988.
Bagdikian was a noted critic of the news media. His 1983 book ''The Media Monopoly'', warning about the growing
concentration of corporate ownership of news organizations, went through several editions and influenced, among others,
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
. Bagdikian has been hailed for his ethical standards and has been described by
Robert W. McChesney
Robert Waterman McChesney (; born December 22, 1952) is an American professor notable in the history and political economy of communications, and the role media play in democratic and capitalist societies. He is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor ...
as one of the finest journalists of the 20th century.
Personal life
Background
Ben-Hur Haig Bagdikian,
born in
Marash
Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş ...
,
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, on January 30, 1920, was the fifth and youngest child of Aram Toros "Theodore" Bagdikian (1882−1957) and Dudeh "Daisy" Uvezian (1886−1923).
He had four sisters. His mother's family was well-off, while his father came from a peasant family. He did graduate work at the
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...
. The family was mostly based in
Tarsus, where his father taught physics and chemistry at
St. Paul's College in
Tarsus, run by Boston
Congregationalists
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
.
His family knew English well. His father also spoke Armenian, Turkish, Arabic, and learned the Biblical languages.
His family left Marash on February 9, 1920, just ten days after Ben was born. They left during the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
,
as Turkish forces reached the city, while the French retreated. While escaping persecution, Bagdikian was dropped in the snow in the mountains while the family was climbing. Only an infant, he was thought to be dead. He was picked up when he began to cry.
They arrived, first, in Boston and subsequently settled in
Stoneham, Massachusetts
Stoneham ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, nine miles (14.5 km) north of downtown Boston. Its population was 23,244 at the 2020 census. Its proximity to major highways and public transportation offer convenient access to Bos ...
. His father was a pastor at several Armenian churches in the Boston area (in
Watertown Watertown may refer to:
Places in China
In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways.
Places in the United States
*Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town
**Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
) and
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
. He had taken courses at the
Harvard Divinity School and had been ordained. His mother was diagnosed with
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
almost immediately after arrival in Boston and died three years later, after spending some time hospitalized in
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
s.
Bagdikian was known throughout his life as Ben, though his baptismal name was Ben-Hur, after the Christian-themed historical novel ''
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'' by
Lew Wallace.
Bagdikian grew up during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, which, according to
Robert D. McFadden
Robert Dennis McFadden (born February 11, 1937) is an American journalist who has worked for ''The New York Times'' since 1961. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996.
Biography
McFadden was born in Milwaukee, and raised in both Chicago and the small t ...
, enforced a "passion for social justice that shaped his reporting."
He described himself as an "Armenian overlaid by, of all things, the culture of
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
Yankee
The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...
."
Religion
Due to his father's role, Bagdikian regularly attended sermons and "disliked the avenging God of the Old Testament and was outraged when Abraham was prepared to obey the order to sacrifice his son as a gesture of faith."
Later in adulthood, Bagdikian became a member of the
First Unitarian Church of Providence
First Unitarian Church of Providence is an American Unitarian Universalist congregation located at the corner of Benefit and Benevolent Streets in Providence, Rhode Island. The congregation was founded in 1723, and the current church building was ...
, a
Unitarian Universalist congregation in Rhode Island.
Education and military service
Bagdikian initially aspired to become a doctor because of his mother's illness and his father's collection of books on
pulmonary diseases
Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, bron ...
that he read. He graduated from
Stoneham High School
Stoneham High School is a comprehensive, four-year public school located in Stoneham, Massachusetts, United States, that offers a range of Comprehensive to Advanced Placement Program courses.
Accredited by the New England Association of Schools ...
in 1937. He thereafter attended
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
, in Worcester, Massachusetts, as a
pre-medical
Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...
student.
He was editor of ''The Clark News'', the college newspaper. He renamed it to ''The Clark Scarlet'', based on the school's colors. The university president,
Wallace Walter Atwood
Wallace Walter Atwood (October 1, 1872 – July 24, 1949) was an American geographer and geologist.
Biography
Wallace Walter Atwood studied geography at the University of Chicago, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. ...
, suspected it was too closely associated with
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
.
[()] Having taken many chemistry courses he sought to apply for a job as a chemist upon graduating from Clark in 1941.
He had the opportunity to work as a lab assistant at
Monsanto in Springfield, Massachusetts.
He served as a navigator (
first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
) in the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
from May 1942 to January 1946.
He had volunteered to joined the Air Forces immediately after the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
in December 1941.
Marriages
Bagdikian married Elizabeth (Betty) Ogasapian in 1942, with whom he had two sons: Aram Christopher "Chris" Bagdikian (1944−2015) and Frederick, Jr. "Eric" Bagdikian (born 1951). They divorced in 1972.
His second marriage, to
Betty Medsger, a ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reporter, ended in divorce as well.
His third wife was Marlene Griffith (born Marie Helene Ungar in Vienna), whom he married in 1983.
Death
Bagdikian died at his home in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
, on March 11, 2016, aged 96.
A memorial service was held at the
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley (UUCB) was founded as the First Unitarian Church of Berkeley in Berkeley, California in 1891 and moved to Kensington, California in 1961. It is one of the oldest and largest Unitarian Universalist chur ...
on June 2, 2016.
Career
Throughout his career, Bagdikian contributed to more than 200 national magazines and journals.
During his college years Bagdikian worked as a reporter for the ''Worcester Gazette'' and ''
Springfield Morning Union
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
''.
After World War II he briefly joined the staff of ''Flying Traveler'', a magazine for private flying in New York.
''The Providence Journal''
Bagdikian began working for the ''
Providence Journal'' in 1947 as a reporter and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
bureau chief. He also served as a local reporter. Bagdikian and ''Journal'' editor and publisher Sevellon Brown won a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
in 1951 for their "most exacting, thorough and readable check-up of broadcasts" of
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...
,
Drew Pearson, and
Fulton Lewis, leading TV and radio commentators.
He was a member of the staff that received the
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, Edition Time
The Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting is a Pulitzer Prize awarded for a distinguished example of breaking news, local reporting on news of the moment. It has been awarded since 1953 under several names:
*From 1953 to 1963: Pulitzer Priz ...
for coverage of a bank robbery in
East Providence (including an ensuing police chase and hostage standoff) that resulted in the death of a patrolman.
Bagdikian later described the paper as one of the better papers, besides their pro-
Republican and
anti-union editorials.
As a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, he covered the
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
in the fall of 1956 riding with an Israeli tank crew.
In 1957, Bagdikian covered the
civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
, especially the
crisis in
Little Rock, Arkansas
(The Little Rock, The "Little Rock")
, government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager
, leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_ ...
. In the fall of that year he traveled to the South with black reporter James "Jim" N. Rhea
to cover the widespread discontent of the whites with the
Supreme Court order to desegregate public schools.
Freelance
Bagdikian began a freelance career after leaving the ''Providence Journal'' in 1961.
He researched media matters at the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
with the
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
he was awarded in 1961.
Subsequently, he was a Washington-based contributing editor of ''
The Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'' from 1963 to 1967. He also wrote for ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...
'' when he focused on social issues, such as poverty, housing, and migration. Bagdikian researched news media at the
RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
in 1969–70 and published a book titled ''The Information Machines: Their Impact on Men and the Media'' in 1971․ Edwin B. Parker of Stanford University praised the report for its readability, and breadth and depth of Bagdikian's "perception of technological and economic trends and his insight into potential social and political consequences."
''The Washington Post''
Bagdikian joined ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' in 1970 and later served as its assistant managing editor and in 1972 its second
ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
as a representative of the readers.
In June 1971 Bagdikian, as the assistant managing editor for national news at the ''Post'', met with
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American political activist, and former United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the ''Pent ...
, a military analyst, who passed him 4,000 pages of the ''
Pentagon Papers'', excerpts from which were published by ''The New York Times'' days earlier and halted by a federal judge.
While the ''Post'' lawyers and management were opposed, Bagdikian argued strongly in favor of publication of the documents despite pressure from the Nixon administration not to on national security grounds.
Bagdikian famously stated: "the (only) way to assert the right to publish is to publish."
The first part was published by the ''Post'' on June 18, 1971.
William Rehnquist phoned ''Post'' executive editor
Ben Bradlee and threatened him with prosecution if the publication of the documents was not stopped. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court
decided 6–3 that "to exercise
prior restraint, the Government must show sufficient evidence that the publication would cause a 'grave and irreparable' danger."
Just months after the publication of the ''Pentagon Papers'' Bagdikian became an undercover inmate at the
Huntingdon State Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison in Pennsylvania, to expose the harsh prison conditions.
With permission from the attorney general of Pennsylvania, he disguised himself as a murderer to observe the prison life without the knowledge of anyone inside the prison. He remained there for six days and his eight-part series on the conditions of the prison were published in the ''Post'' from January 29 to February 6, 1972. He reported "widespread racial tension behind bars, outbursts of violence, open 'homosexualism' and an elaborate, yet fragile, code of etiquette." Bagdikian and ''Post'' reporter
Leon Dash published the series first as a report in 1972 and later as a book (1976).
Bagdikian left the ''Post'' in August 1972 after clashing with Bradlee "as a conduit of outside and internal complaints."
UC Berkeley
Bagdikian wrote for the ''
Columbia Journalism Review
The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...
'' from 1972 to 1974.
He taught at
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
from 1976 until his retirement in 1990. He taught courses such as Introduction to Journalism and Ethics in Journalism. He was the dean of the
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism is a graduate professional school on the campus of University of California, Berkeley. It is among the top graduate journalism schools in the United States, and is designed to produce journalists wi ...
from 1985 to 1988.
He was named Professor Emeritus upon departure.
Media criticism
In an interview with
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
's ''
Frontline
Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield.
Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to:
Books and publications
* ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant
* ''Frontlines ...
'' Bagdikian stated that while the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
allows newspapers to print anything, especially unpopular things, newspapers have an implied moral obligation to be responsible, because of their power on popular opinion and because the First Amendment was "framed with the supposition that there would be multiple sources of information."
Bagdikian was an early advocate of in-house critics, or ombudsmen in newspapers, who he believed, would "address public concerns about journalistic practices."
He described the treatment of news about tobacco and related health issues as "one of the original sins of the media," because "for decades, there was suppression of medical evidence ... plain suppression."
Bagdikian criticized the wide use of
anonymous sources
In journalism, a source is a person, publication, or knowledge other record or document that gives timely information. Outside journalism, sources are sometimes known as "news sources". Examples of sources include but are not limited to officia ...
in news media, the acceptance of government narratives by reporters, particularly on "national security" grounds.
Bagdikian formulated a law, dubbed the Bagdikian Law of Journalism: "The accuracy of news reports of an event is inversely proportional to the number of reporters on the scene."
He was a harsh critic of TV news and the celebrity status of news anchors, which he argued, was the "worst thing that can happen to a journalist." He noted, "The job of the celebrity is to be observed, to make sure others learn about him or her, to be the object of attention rather than an observer."
Bagdikian stressed the importance of local media. He argued that only locally based journalism can adequately report the local issues and candidates, otherwise "voters become captives of the only alternative information, paid political propaganda, or no information at all."
Regarding online journalism, Bagdikian stated that there is "lots of junk on it, but it’s still an outlet for an independent with no money but plenty of ingenuity and skill, like
MoveOn.org
MoveOn (formerly known as MoveOn.org) is a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 around one of the first massively viral email petitions, MoveOn has since grown into one of the largest grassroot ...
. It’s not controlled by the corporations. Not yet."
Bagdikian was a regular ''New York Times'' reader, and appreciated ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', ''
The Progressive'', alternative radio, ''
The New York Review of Books
''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
''; he also read ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' and ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' to "get a view of the total picture most magazine readers are getting." He also occasionally read the ''
National Review'' and ''
The Weekly Standard
''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...
'' "to know what the right is thinking." Bagdikian recommended ''The Nation'', ''The Progressive'' and ''Newsweek'' for those who wanted to stay informed but have limited time to do so.
In 1987 Bagdikian testified on the effects of profit on news reporting before the
House Energy Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, along with economist
John Kenneth Galbraith. Both Galbraith and Bagdikian voiced their concerns about the takeover of TV networks by large corporations.
Publications
Bagdikian's first book, ''In the Midst of Plenty: The Poor in America'', was published in 1964 by
Beacon Press
Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as James B ...
and covered various categories of poverty in America, including the
poor in Appalachia, the elderly in Los Angeles, men in
flophouse
A flophouse (American English) or dosshouse (British English) is a place that offers very low-cost lodging, providing space to sleep and minimal amenities.
Characteristics
Historically, flophouses, or British "doss-houses", have been used for o ...
s in Chicago, and others.
His studies at the
RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
produced two books: ''The Information Machines: Their Impact on Men and the Media'' and ''The Effete Conspiracy and Other Crimes by the Press'', published by
Harper & Row in 1971 and 1972, respectively.
His memoir, ''Double Vision: Reflections on My Heritage, Life and Profession'', was published by Beacon Press in 1995.
''The Media Monopoly''
In 1983 Bagdikian authored a widely cited and acclaimed work, ''The Media Monopoly'', which was published by
Beacon Press
Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as James B ...
after it was rejected by
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
.
Richard E. Snyder
Richard Elliot “Dick” Snyder (born 1933) in Brooklyn, New York is an American publishing executive best known for his tenures at Simon & SchusterYardley, Jonathan (June 20, 1994). A Publishing Tycoon's Lasting Imprint. ''The Washington Post'' a ...
, Simon & Schuster's president, was, according to Bagdikian, "vehemently opposed to the manuscript, because, among other reasons,
nyder
This is a list of henchmen, fictional characters serving villains and/or monsters and aliens in the long-running British science fiction television series, ''Doctor Who''. For other, related lists, see below.
B
Lance Bennett
Lance Bennet ...
felt it made all corporations look bad." The book examines the increasing concentration of the media in the US in the hands of corporate owners, which, he argued, threatened freedom of expression and independent journalism. He wrote that some 50 corporations controlled what most people in the United States read and watched.
Bagdikian argued that "media power is political power." The book went into 5 more editions—in 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2000. In 2004, ''The New Media Monopoly'' was published, essentially the 7th edition of the original.
In 2000 Bagdikian stated, "Every edition has been considered by some to be alarmist and every edition ends up being too conservative." In this latest version, Bagdikian wrote that the number of corporations controlling most of the media decreased to five:
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
,
News Corporation,
Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
,
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
, and
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
. He argued, "This gives each of the five corporations and their leaders more communications power than was exercised by any despot or dictatorship in history."
The book became a "standard text for many college classes" and, along with ''
Manufacturing Consent'' by
Edward S. Herman and
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
, in the opinion of
Neil Henry, is a work that is the "most widely cited scholarly work about the effects of economics on modern news media practices, including market and political pressures that determine news content." The book was criticized by
Jack Shafer
Jack Shafer (born November 14, 1957) is an American journalist who writes about media for ''Politico''. Prior to joining ''Politico'', he worked for Reuters and also edited and wrote the column'' "''Press Box" for ''Slate'', an online magazine. B ...
for alleged bias. ''
The Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'', though accepting such problems, declared that it is a "groundbreaking work that charts a historic shift in the orientation of the majority of America's communications media—further away from the needs of the individual and closer to those of big business."
Political views
Bagdikian was a self-proclaimed advocate for
social justice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
. He described the
McCarthy era as "very reactionary." In 1997 Bagdikian opined that "criticizing capitalism has never been a popular subject in the general news." In the
2000 U.S. presidential election
The 2000 United States presidential election was the 54th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. Republican candidate George W. Bush, the governor of Texas and eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush ...
Bagdikian endorsed
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes.
The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...
, the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
candidate
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* t ...
. He was a founding member of the grassroots network Armenians for Nader. He stated: "I think Ralph Nader has already powerfully defined the issues in this campaign and has had influence on the positions of both major party candidates." He argued that "there's a natural hostility among corporate organizations toward Nader, because they see him as the person who's embarrassed them endlessly and sees them as part of the national political problem."
He appeared on
KPFK
KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves Southern California, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet. It was the second of five stations in the non-commerci ...
along with
Serj Tankian and
Peter Balakian
Peter Balakian, born June 13, 1951, is an American poet, prose writer, and scholar. He is the author of many books including the 2016 Pulitzer prize winning book of poems ''Ozone Journal'', the memoir ''Black Dog of Fate'', winner of the PEN/Alb ...
on April 24, 2005, to talk about the Armenian Genocide.
The
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) had a 200-page file on Bagdikian spanning from 1951 to 1971. One document described him as well known in FBI files as a "writer who has criticized the FBI in the past. He has made snide remarks relative to" FBI director
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...
and "some of his work has been described
pecifically, by Hooveras 'utter bunk'." When Bagdikian requested all his FBI record under the
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
in 1975, the FBI withheld records on the part he played in the Pentagon Papers case. They were not released until 2018.
Legacy and recognition
C. Edwin Baker describes Bagdikian as "probably the most quoted, certainly one of the most acute, commentators on media ownership." Arthur S. Hayes,
Fordham University
Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
professor, wrote in his 2008 book ''Press Critics Are the Fifth Estate'' that Bagdikian has been "farsighted, inspirational, influential, long lasting, and a forerunner."
Sociologist
Alfred McClung Lee praised Bagdikian as having the virtues of both an investigative journalist and a participant-observing social scientist.
Robert D. McFadden
Robert Dennis McFadden (born February 11, 1937) is an American journalist who has worked for ''The New York Times'' since 1961. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996.
Biography
McFadden was born in Milwaukee, and raised in both Chicago and the small t ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called Bagdikian "a celebrated voice of conscience for his profession, calling for tougher standards of integrity and public service in an era of changing tastes and technology."
Edward Wasserman, the dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism at the time of his death, Bagdikian was a "major figure in 20th century US journalism and journalism education, and we’re all his beneficiaries."
Jeff Cohen, the founder of the media watch group
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) stated:
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.
Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
has named ''The Media Monopoly'' the most influential book he ever read.
Robert W. McChesney
Robert Waterman McChesney (; born December 22, 1952) is an American professor notable in the history and political economy of communications, and the role media play in democratic and capitalist societies. He is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor ...
, who cites Bagdikian as one of the strongest influences on him, called Bagdikian one of the finest journalists of the 20th century. McChesney argued that Bagdikian was "certainly accorded more respect by working journalists" than Herman and Chomsky, the authors of ''Manufacturing Consent'', due to their perceived radicalism, in contrast to Bagdikian's liberal views. Progressive journalist and writer
John Nichols, writing for ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', called Bagdikian a "pioneering media reformer."
In an interview with ''
Democracy Now!'', he said of Bagdikian :
The ''Pentagon Papers'' controversy at ''The Washington Post'' was recounted in the
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
film ''
The Post'' (2017), where Bagdikian was played by
Bob Odenkirk
Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...
.
Awards and honors
*
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
(1950)
*
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for Local Reporting, Edition Time (staff contributor;
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
)
*
Hillman Prize (1956) for his series on
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
*
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
(1961)
*
James Madison Award
The James Madison Award is administered by the American Library Association, which describes the award:
The award named for President James Madison was established in 1989 and is presented annually on the anniversary of his birth to honor indivi ...
(1998)
Bagdikian received honorary degrees, among others, from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
(Doctor of Humane Letters, 1961),
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
(Doctor of Letters, 1963),
Berkeley Citation from
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
(equivalent of an honorary degree, 1990),
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...
(Doctor of Letters, 1992). He was the
commencement speaker
A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the world.
The commencement ...
of the 1972 Journalism Convocation of
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
.
The fellowship program of the progressive magazine ''
Mother Jones
Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
'' is named for Bagdikian due to his "professional record, his personal integrity, and his commitment to social justice."
Bagdikian was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame on October 30, 2016. According to the board he had "long and significant ties to Rhode Island."
References
Bibliography
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External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagdikian, Ben
American media critics
American journalism academics
University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism faculty
20th-century American journalists
20th-century American newspaper editors
American newspaper reporters and correspondents
American investigative journalists
American political writers
The Washington Post people
The Providence Journal people
American journalists of Armenian descent
20th-century American memoirists
American male non-fiction writers
Peabody Award winners
Clark University alumni
American Unitarian Universalists
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States
Armenians from the Ottoman Empire
1920 births
2016 deaths