Pilger, John
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John Richard Pilger (; 9 October 1939 – 30 December 2023) was an Australian journalist, writer, scholar and documentary filmmaker. From 1962, he was based mainly in Britain. He was also a visiting professor at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
in New York. Pilger was a critic of
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
,
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
, and British foreign policy, which he considered to be driven by an
imperialist Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power ( diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism fo ...
and
colonialist Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
agenda. He criticised his native country's treatment of
Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
. He first drew international attention for his reports on the
Cambodian genocide The Cambodian genocide was the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodian citizens by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot. It resulted in the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people from 1975 to 1979, nearly 25% of Cambodia's populati ...
. Pilger's career as a documentary filmmaker began with ''The Quiet Mutiny'' (1970), made during one of his visits to Vietnam, and continued with over 50 documentaries thereafter. Other works in this form include ''
Year Zero A year zero does not exist in the Anno Domini (AD) calendar year system commonly used to number years in the Gregorian calendar (nor in its predecessor, the Julian calendar); in this system, the year is followed directly by year (which is the ...
'' (1979), about the aftermath of the
Pol Pot regime Democratic Kampuchea was the official name of the Cambodian state from 1976 to 1979, under the government of Pol Pot and the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), commonly known as the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge's capture of the capital Phnom ...
in Cambodia, and '' Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy'' (1993). His many documentary films on indigenous Australians include '' The Secret Country'' (1985) and ''
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
'' (2013). In the British print media, Pilger worked at the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' from 1963 to 1986,Biography page
Pilger's official website.
and wrote a regular column for the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'' magazine from 1991 to 2014. Pilger won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award in 1967 and 1979. His documentaries have gained awards in Britain and abroad, including a
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
. He came fourth in a poll of 50 heroes of all time by the New Statesman in May 2006.


Early life and education

John Richard Pilger was born on 9 October 1939 in
Bondi, New South Wales Bondi () is a suburb of eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council. Geography Bondi is a mostly medium and h ...
, the son of Claude and Elsie Pilger. His older brother, Graham (1932–2017), was a disabled rights activist who later advised the government of
Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...
. Pilger was of German descent on his father's side, while his mother had English, German and Irish ancestry; two of his maternal great-great-grandparents were Irish convicts transported to Australia."Interview with John Pilger"
''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...
'',
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
, 18 February 1990
His mother taught French in school. Pilger and his brother attended
Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a s ...
, where he began a student newspaper, ''The Messenger''. He later joined a four-year journalist trainee scheme with the
Australian Consolidated Press Are Media is an Australian media company. It was formed after the 2020 purchase of the assets of Bauer Media Australia, which had in turn acquired the assets of Pacific Magazines, AP Magazines and Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) during th ...
.


Newspaper and television career


Newspaper

Beginning his career in 1958 as a copy boy with the ''Sydney Sun'', Pilger later moved to ''
Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
'' in Sydney, where he was a reporter, sportswriter and sub-editor. He also freelanced and worked for the Sydney ''Sunday Telegraph'', the daily paper's sister title. After moving to Europe, he was a freelance correspondent in Italy for a year.Hayward (2008), p. 4. Settling in London in 1962 and working as a sub-editor, Pilger joined British United Press and then
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
on its Middle-East desk. In 1963, he was recruited by the English ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'', again as a sub-editor. Later, he advanced to become a reporter, a feature writer, and chief foreign correspondent for the title. While living and working in the United States for the ''Daily Mirror'', on 5 June 1968 he witnessed the
assassination of Robert F. Kennedy On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles), Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, and pronounced dead the following day. Kennedy, a United States senator and candidate in the 19 ...
in Los Angeles during his presidential campaign. He was a
war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...
in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
,
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and
Biafra Biafara Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicized as Biafra ( ), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria ...
. Nearly eighteen months after
Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...
bought the ''Mirror'' (on 12 July 1984), Pilger was sacked by Richard Stott, the newspaper's editor, on 31 December 1985. Pilger was banned from South Africa in 1967. Pilger was a founder of the ''
News on Sunday The ''News on Sunday'' was a Left-wing politics, left-wing United Kingdom, British Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. It was launched in April 1987. Publication ceased seven months later, in November 1987. Origins The founders of the ...
'' tabloid in 1984 and became its editor-in-chief in 1986.John Pilger, ''Heroes'', London: Vintage, 2001 edition, pp. 572–73. During the period of hiring staff, Pilger was away for several months filming ''The Secret Country'' in Australia. Prior to this, he had given editor Keith Sutton a list of people who he thought might be recruited for the paper, but found on his return to Britain that none of them had been hired. Pilger, however, came into conflict with those around him. He disagreed with the founders' decision to base the paper in Manchester and then clashed with the governing committees; the paper was intended to be a workers' co-operative.Roy Greenslad
''Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits From Propaganda''
London: Pan, 2003
004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * La ...
pp. 494–95.
Sutton's appointment as editor was Pilger's suggestion, but he fell out with Sutton over his plan to produce a left-wing ''
Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
'' newspaper. The two men ended up producing their own dummies, but the founders and the various committees backed Sutton. Pilger, appointed with "overall editorial control", resigned at this point before the first issue appeared. The first issue appeared on 27 April 1987 and ''The News on Sunday'' soon closed. Pilger returned to the ''Mirror'' in 2001 after the
9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, while
Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...
was editor. In discussing why he left the paper after only being there for 18 months, he told Ian Burrell of the Independent in 2008: "It was a very rewarding 18 months," he says. "I was happy to keep on writing for the Mirror, but Piers was under pressure from the management and American shareholders who objected to the kind of journalism that he was publishing, often written by me. It was a myth that the readers didn't want a serious approach to journalism in a popular newspaper."" His most frequent outlet for many years was the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'', where he had a fortnightly column from 1991 when
Steve Platt Steve Platt (born 1954) is a British journalist who was editor of '' New Statesman and Society'' magazine 1991–1996. Platt studied geography at the London School of Economics, edited Shelter's housing magazine ''Roof'', and was an activis ...
was editor to 2014. In 2018, Pilger said his "written journalism is no longer welcome" in the mainstream and that "probably its last home" was in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''. His last column for ''The Guardian'' was in November 2019.


Television

With the actor David Swift, and the film makers
Paul Watson Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American environmental, conservation and animal rights activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine conserva ...
and Charles Denton, Pilger formed Tempest Films in 1969. "We wanted a frontman with a mind of his own, rather like another
James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
, with whom Richard arquand/nowiki> had worked", Swift once said. "Paul thought John was very charismatic, as well as marketing extremely original, refreshingly radical ideas." The company was unable to gain commissions from either the BBC or ITV, but did manage to package potential projects. Pilger's career on television began on ''
World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...
'' (
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
) in 1969, directed by Denton, for whom he made two documentaries broadcast in 1970 and 1971, the earliest of more than fifty in his career. ''The Quiet Mutiny'' (1970) was filmed at Camp Snuffy, presenting a character study of the common US soldier during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. It revealed the shifting
morale Morale ( , ) is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower, ...
and open rebellion of American troops. Pilger later described the film as "something of a scoop" – it was the first documentary to show the problems with morale among the drafted ranks of the US military. In an interview with the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'', Pilger said:
When I flew to New York and showed it to
Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...
, the star reporter of
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
' ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'', he agreed. "Real shame we can't show it here".
He made other documentaries about the United States involvement in Vietnam, including ''Vietnam: Still America's War'' (1974), ''Do You Remember Vietnam?'' (1978), and '' Vietnam: The Last Battle'' (1995). During his work with BBC's ''Midweek'' television series during 1972–73,Hayward (2008), p. 5. Pilger completed five documentary reports, but only two were broadcast. Pilger was successful in gaining a regular television outlet at
ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television broadcaster * Andorra Televisió * Anguilla Television * Ayna TV, Afghanistan * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourn ...
. The ''Pilger'' half-hour documentary series was commissioned by Charles Denton, then a producer with ATV, for screening on the British ITV network. The series ran for five seasons from 1974 until 1977, at first running in the UK on Sunday afternoons after ''
Weekend World ''Weekend World'' is a British television political series, made by London Weekend Television (LWT) and broadcast from 1972 to 1988. Created by John Birt, not long after he had joined LWT, the series was broadcast on the ITV network at midday ...
''. The theme song for the series was composed by
Lynsey de Paul Lynsey de Paul (born Lyndsey Monckton Rubin; 11 June 1948 – 1 October 2014) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting ...
. Later the program was scheduled in a weekday peak-time evening slot. The last series included "A Faraway Country" (September 1977) about dissidents in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, then still part of the Communist Soviet bloc. Pilger and his team interviewed members of
Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...
and other groups, clandestinely using domestic film equipment. In the documentary Pilger praises the dissidents' courage and commitment to freedom and describes the communist totalitarianism as "fascism disguised as socialism". Pilger was later given an hour slot at 9 pm, before '' News at Ten'', which gave him a high profile in Britain. After ATV lost its franchise in 1981, he continued to make documentaries for screening on ITV, initially for Central, and later via
Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tele ...
.


Documentaries and career: 1978–2000


Cambodia

In 1979, Pilger and two colleagues with whom he collaborated for many years, documentary filmmaker David Munro and photographer Eric Piper, entered
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
in the wake of the overthrow of the
Pol Pot Pol Pot (born Saloth Sâr; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian politician, revolutionary, and dictator who ruled the communist state of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until Cambodian–Vietnamese War, his overthrow in 1979. During ...
regime. They made photographs and reports that were world exclusives. The first was published as a special issue of the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'', which sold out. They also produced an ITV documentary, ''Year Zero: the Silent Death of Cambodia.'' Whilst filming 'Cambodia: Year One" Pilger was placed on a 'death list' by the Khmer Rouge. Following the showing of ''Year Zero'', some $45 million was raised, unsolicited, in mostly small donations, including almost £4 million raised by schoolchildren in the UK. This funded the first substantial relief to Cambodia, including the shipment of life-saving drugs such as penicillin, and clothing to replace the black uniforms people had been forced to wear. According to Brian Walker, director of
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...
, "a solidarity and compassion surged across our nation" from the broadcast of ''Year Zero''.
William Shawcross Sir William Hartley Hume Shawcross (born 28 May 1946) is a British journalist, writer, and broadcaster. He is the incumbent Commissioner for Public Appointments. From 2012 to 2018 he chaired the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Shawcr ...
wrote in his book ''The Quality of Mercy: Cambodia, Holocaust and Modern Conscience'' (1984) about Pilger's series of articles about Cambodia in the ''Daily Mirror'' during August 1979:
A rather interesting quality of the articles was their concentration on Nazism and the holocaust. Pilger called Pol Pot 'an Asian Hitler' — and said he was even worse than Hitler . . . Again and again Pilger compared the Khmer Rouge to the Nazis. Their Marxist-Leninist ideology was not even mentioned in the ''Mirror'', except to say they were inspired by the Red Guards. Their intellectual origins were described as 'anarchist' rather than Communist". "Holocaust" is rendered in lower case in Richard West's article.
Ben Kiernan Benedict F. "Ben" Kiernan (born 29 January 1953) is an Australian-born American historian who is the Whitney Griswold Professor Emeritus of History, Professor of International and Area Studies and Director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale ...
, in his review of Shawcross's book, notes that Pilger did compare Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge to Stalin's terror, as well as to Mao's
Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...
. Kiernan notes instances where other writers' comparisons of Pol Pot to Hitler or the Vietnamese to the Nazis are either accepted by Shawcross in his account, or not mentioned. Also cited to ''Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars'' (January–March 1986), 18(1): 56–63 Shawcross wrote in ''The Quality of Mercy'' that "Pilger's reports underwrote almost everything that refugees along the Thai border had been saying about the cruelty of Khmer Rouge rule since 1975, and that had already appeared in the books by the ''Reader's Digest'' and François Ponchaud. In ''Heroes'', Pilger disputes
François Ponchaud François Ponchaud (; 8 February 1939 – 17 January 2025) was a French Catholic priest and missionary to Cambodia. He was best known for his documentation of the genocide which occurred under the Khmer Rouge (KR), and for being one of the first ...
and Shawcross's account of Vietnamese atrocities during the Vietnamese invasion and near famine as being "unsubstantiated". (Originally published by Jonathan Cape, London, 1986). Ponchaud had interviewed members of anti-communist groups living in the Thai refugee border camps. According to Pilger, "At the very least the effect of Shawcross's 'exposé'" of Cambodians' treatment at the hands of the Vietnamese "was to blur the difference between Cambodia under Pol Pot and Cambodia liberated by the Vietnamese: in truth, a difference of night and day". In his book, Shawcross himself doubted that anyone had died of starvation. Pilger and Munro made four later films about Cambodia. Pilger's documentary ''Cambodia – The Betrayal'' (1990), prompted a libel case against him, which was settled at the High Court with an award against Pilger and Central Television. ''The Times'' of 6 July 1991 reported:
Two men who claimed that a television documentary accused them of being SAS members who trained Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge to lay mines, accepted "very substantial" libel damages in the High Court yesterday. Christopher Geidt and Anthony De Normann settled their action against the journalist John Pilger and Central Television on the third day of the hearing. Desmond Browne, QC, for Mr Pilger and Central Television, said his clients had not intended to allege the two men trained the Khmer Rouge to lay mines, but they accepted that was how the program had been understood.
Pilger said the defence case collapsed because the government issued a gagging order, citing national security, which prevented three government ministers and two former heads of the SAS from appearing in court. The film received a British Academy of Film and Television Award nomination in 1991.


Thai slavery story

In 1982 Pilger authored an article for the ''Daily Mirror'' in which he wrote that he had bought an 8-year-old Thai slave girl for £85, and subsequently to have discovered her village of origin in Northern Thailand and returned her to her mother, with Pilger pledging money to support the girl's education. This story was subsequently cast into doubt by an investigation in the ''Far Eastern Economic Review'' (FEER) which uncovered that the girl and her mother had been paid to play their respective parts by a fixer working for Pilger. Pilger accused those involved at FEER of being CIA agents. An article by the right-wing journalist
Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh ( ; 17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was a British journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...
to ''The Spectator'' cast further doubt on the story. Pilger threatened ''The Spectator'' with an action for libel. In responding to The Bulletin's coverage of the issue Pilger wrote the following on 17 August 1982: I Do Not Believe I was HoaxedPilger went on in his letter to point out that he wasn't in Thailand on the month it was alleged to have occurred. The matter was settled out of court without any payment to Pilger.


Australia's Indigenous peoples

Pilger long criticised aspects of Australian government policy, particularly what he regarded as its inherent racism resulting in the poor treatment of
Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
. In 1969, Pilger went with Australian activist Charlie Perkins on a tour to Jay Creek in Central Australia. He compared what he witnessed in Jay Creek to South African apartheid. He saw the appalling conditions that the
Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
were living under, with children suffering from malnutrition and grieving mothers and grandmothers having had their lighter-skinned children and grandchildren removed by the police and welfare agencies. Equally, he learned of Aboriginal boys being sent to work on white-run farms, and Aboriginal girls working as servants in middle-class homes as undeclared slave labour. Pilger made several documentaries about Indigenous Australians, such as '' The Secret Country: The First Australians Fight Back'' (1985) and ''
Welcome to Australia ''Welcome to Australia'' is a 1999 Carlton Television documentary, written and presented by John Pilger and directed and produced by Alan Lowery that demonstrates the injustices endured by Aboriginal Australian sportsmen and women who were, unti ...
'' (1999). His book on the subject, ''A Secret Country'', was first published in 1989. Pilger wrote in 2000 that the 1998 legislation that removed the common-law rights of Indigenous peoples:
is just one of the disgraces that has given Australia the distinction of being the only developed country whose government has been condemned as racist by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Pilger returned to this subject with ''Utopia'', released in 2013 (see below).


East Timor


''Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy''

In
East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
Pilger clandestinely shot ''Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy'' about the brutal
Indonesian occupation of East Timor The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese Timor, Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to the decolonisation of ...
, which began in 1975. ''Death of a Nation'' contributed to an international outcry which ultimately led to Indonesian withdrawal from
East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
and eventual independence in 2000. When ''Death of a Nation'' was screened in Britain it was the highest rating documentary in 15 years and 5,000 telephone calls per minute were made to the programme's action line. When ''Death of a Nation'' was screened in Australia in June 1994, Foreign Minister Gareth Evans declared that Pilger "had a track record of distorted
sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emoti ...
mixed with sanctimony."


Documentaries and career (2000-2023)


''Palestine Is Still the Issue''

Pilger's documentary ''
Palestine Is Still the Issue ''Palestine Is Still the Issue'' is a 2002 Carlton Television documentary, written and presented by John Pilger and directed by Tony Stark, inspired by the book ''Drinking The Sea at Gaza'' by Amira Hass. Pilger visits the Middle East and tries ...
'' was released in 2002 and had
Ilan Pappé Ilan Pappé ( ; born 7 November 1954) is an Israeli historian, political scientist, and former politician. He is a professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, director ...
as historical adviser. Pilger said the film describes how an "historic injustice has been done to the Palestinian people, and until Israel's illegal and brutal occupation ends, there will be no peace for anyone, Israelis included". He said the responses of his interviewees "put the lie to the standard Zionist cry that any criticism of Israel is anti-semitic, a claim that insults all those Jewish people who reject the likes of
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...
acting in their name".John Pilger
"Why my film is under fire"
''The Guardian'', 23 September 2002.
Its broadcast resulted in complaints by the Israeli embassy, the
Board of Deputies of British Jews The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established in 17 ...
, and the
Conservative Friends of Israel Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) is a British parliamentary group affiliated to the Conservative Party, which is dedicated to strengthening control over business, cultural and political ties between the United Kingdom and Israel, as well as ...
that it was inaccurate and biased. Michael Green, chairman of
Carlton Communications Carlton Communications plc was a British media company. It was led by Michael P. Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it was bought by Granada plc in a corporate takeover to form ITV plc. Carlton s ...
, the company that made the film, also objected to it in an interview with ''
The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...
''. The UK television regulator, the
Independent Television Commission The Independent Television Commission (ITC) licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom (except S4C in Wales) between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003. History The creation of ITC, by the Broadcasting Act ...
(ITC), ordered an investigation. The ITC investigation rejected the complaints about the film, stating in its report:
The ITC raised with Carlton all the significant areas of inaccuracy critics of the programme alleged and the broadcaster answered them by reference to a range of historical texts. The ITC is not a tribunal of fact and is particularly aware of the difficulties of verifying 'historical fact' but the comprehensiveness and authority of Carlton's sources were persuasive, not least because many appeared to be of Israeli origin."Programme Complaints and Findings Bulletin No. 6"
ITC, 13 January 2003, pp. 4–5

The ITC concluded that in Pilger's documentary "adequate opportunity was given to a pro-Israeli government perspective" and that the programme "was not in breach of the ITC Programme Code".Louise Jury

, ''The Independent'', 13 January 2003. Retrieved 3 July 2011.


''Stealing a Nation''

Pilger's documentary ''
Stealing a Nation ''Stealing a Nation'' is a 2004 Granada Television documentary about the British–American clandestine operation that saw the expulsion of the Chagossian population who have lived on Diego Garcia and neighbouring islands since the late 18th c ...
'' (2004) recounts the expulsion of the
Chagossians The Chagossians — also called Chagos Islanders or — are an Afro-Asians, Afro-Asian ethnic group originating from freed African slaves as well as people of Asian (Indian and Malay) descent brought to the Chagos Islands, specifically Diego ...
by Britain and the USA between 1967 and 1973 so that the US could construct a military base on their former land. The poor economic situation faced by the Chagossians in
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
as a result of the deportation is described in the film. After the expulsion, the
United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
leased
Diego Garcia Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...
, the largest island in the Chagos Islands, from Britain and constructed a major military base there. In the 21st century, the US used the base for planes which were bombing targets in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a 2000 ruling on the events, the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
described the wholesale removal of the Chagossian peoples from the Chagos Islands by Britain as "a
crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
". Pilger strongly criticised
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
for failing to respond in a substantive way to the 2000 High Court ruling that the expulsion of the
Chagossian people The Chagossians — also called Chagos Islanders or — are an Afro-Asian ethnic group originating from freed African slaves as well as people of Asian (Indian and Malay) descent brought to the Chagos Islands, specifically Diego Garcia, Per ...
to Mauritius was illegal. In March 2005, ''
Stealing a Nation ''Stealing a Nation'' is a 2004 Granada Television documentary about the British–American clandestine operation that saw the expulsion of the Chagossian population who have lived on Diego Garcia and neighbouring islands since the late 18th c ...
'' received the
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
Award.


Latin America: ''The War on Democracy'' (2007)

The documentary '' The War on Democracy'' (2007) was Pilger's first film to be released in the cinema. In "an unremitting assault on American foreign policy since 1945", according to
Andrew Billen Andrew William Scott Billen (born 30 December 1957) is a British journalist, children's author, and staff feature writer on ''The Times'' newspaper. Early life Andrew Billen was born in London on 30 December 1957 and brought up in Brentwood, E ...
in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', the film explores the role of US interventions, overt and covert, in toppling a series of governments in the region, and placing "a succession of favourably disposed bullies in control of its Latino backyard". It discusses the US role in the overthrow in 1973 of the democratically elected Chilean leader
Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...
, who was replaced by the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. Pilger interviews several ex-
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
agents who purportedly took part in secret campaigns against democratic governments in South America. It also contains what
Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...
in ''The Guardian'' described as "a dewy-eyed interview" with President
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
of Venezuela, which has moments of "almost ''Hello!''-magazine deference". Pilger explores the US Army
School of the Americas The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly the School of the Americas, is a United States Department of Defense school located at Fort Benning (briefly known as Fort Moore) in Columbus, Georgia, the school bein ...
in the US state of Georgia. Generations of South American military were trained there, with a curriculum including
counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...
techniques. Attendees reportedly included members of Pinochet's security services, along with men from
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
,
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and Brazil who have been implicated in human rights abuses. The film also details the attempted overthrow of Venezuela's President
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
in 2002, and the response of the people of
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
. It looks at the wider rise of populist governments across South America, led by figures calling for loosening ties with the United States and attempting a more equitable redistribution of the continent's natural wealth. Of "Chávez's decision to bypass the National Assembly for 18 months, and rule by decree", Peter Bradshaw writes "Pilger passes over it very lightly". Pilger said the film is about the struggle of people to free themselves from a modern form of slavery. These people, he says,
describe a world not as American presidents like to see it as useful or expendable, they describe the power of courage and humanity among people with next to nothing. They reclaim noble words like democracy, freedom, liberation, justice, and in doing so they are defending the most basic human rights of all of us in a war being waged against all of us.
''The War on Democracy'' won the Best Documentary category at the
One World Media Awards One World Media is a non-profit organisation, registered in the UK as a charitable trust. It is based in London. The organisation describes its aim as supporting strong vibrant and independent media that empower citizens, promote justice and contrib ...
in 2008.


''The War You Don't See'' (2010)

The subject of ''The War You Don't See'' is the role of the media in making war. It concentrates on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. It begins with the
Collateral Murder On July 12, 2007, a series of air-to-ground attacks were conducted by a team of two U.S. AH-64 Apache helicopters in Al-Amin al-Thaniyah, New Baghdad, during the Iraqi insurgency which followed the invasion of Iraq. On April 5, 2010, the att ...
video leaked by
Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning, December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage ...
and released by
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...
. In an interview, Julian Assange describes WikiLeaks as an organisation that gives power to 'conscientious objectors' within 'power systems'. The documentary contends that the media far from acting as the fourth estate – instead uncritically reports the official line and spin from governments and in turn delivers propaganda over journalism. During the documentary Pilger states that "propaganda relies on us in the media to aim its deceptions not at a far away country but at you at home"."Julian Assange's backers lose £200,000 bail money"
''The Telegraph'' (UK), 4 September 2012.


Reception

In its review, Time Out magazine said: "This wonderfully researched and outraged film gathers and presents the case for the prosecution. In a world of embedded reporters, sophisticated spin and governmental evasion, what price investigative journalism?" For Christopher Czechowicz of the
Frontline Club The Frontline Club is a media club and registered charity created by Vaughan and Pranvera Smith, located near Paddington Station in London. With a strong emphasis on conflict reporting, it aims to champion independent journalism, provide an effe ...
: "Perhaps what’s most important about this film is its simple message. For John Pilger, the mainstream Fourth Estate is not doing its job properly. Whereas independent journalists are able to articulate the truth in a sophisticated manner, mainstream sources remain disinterested in their work. Time and again, they prefer baseless information, sound bytes and sensational footage of clamoring crowds that rouse emotion to the hard tasks journalists must perform. In Pilger’s final remarks in the film, what remains clear is that more than ever, uncompromised, brave journalism is needed in our world, always challenging the official story, in his words, “however patriotic it appears, or however seductive or insidious it is.” When interviewed about the film on
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
's The Listening Post he was asked that the media could in fact prevent war, Pilger replied that in his own view that the media could in fact stop a war from occurring. Having been criticised directly in the documentary, with Pilger interviewing
Fran Unsworth Francesca Mary Unsworth (born 29 December 1957) is a British journalist and media executive. From January 2018 to 2022, she was Director, News & Current Affairs for BBC News. She was appointed in succession to James Harding. Before then, she s ...
, the then BBC Head of Newsgathering about its war coverage. The former BBC World News editor, Jon Williams responded to the charge of embedded journalism no longer being objective with the following: "But "embedding" does have real value. There are 9,500 British troops in Afghanistan - and more than 100,000 US service personnel. Theirs is an important perspective, and their operations an important part of the story. The security situation means, sometimes, it is only possible to travel to certain parts of the country as part of a military "embed"." John Lloyd in the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' said ''The War You Don't See'' was a "one-sided" documentary which "had no thought of explaining, even hinting, that the wars fought by the US and the UK had a scrap of just cause, nor of examining the nature of what Pilger simply stated were "lies" – especially those that took the two countries to the invasion of Iraq".


''Utopia'' (2013)

With ''Utopia'', Pilger returned to the experiences of Indigenous Australians and what he termed "the denigrating of their humanity".Geoffrey Macna
"Film review: ''Utopia'' – John Pilger's documentary reveals 'shocking poverty' of Australia's indigenous communities"
''The Independent'', 14 November 2013.
A documentary feature film, it takes its title from
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
, an Aboriginal
homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...
(also known as an outstation) in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
. Pilger says that "in essence, very little" has changed since the first of his seven films about the Aboriginal people, ''A Secret Country: The First Australians'' (1985). In an interview with the UK based ''Australian Times'' he commented: "the catastrophe imposed on Indigenous Australians is the equivalent of apartheid, and the system has to change". Reviewing the film,
Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...
wrote: "The awful truth is that Indigenous communities are on mineral-rich lands that cause mouths to water in mining corporation boardrooms". "When the subject and subjects are allowed to speak for themselves – when Pilger doesn't stand and preach – the injustices glow like throbbing wounds", wrote
Nigel Andrews Nigel Andrews FRSA (born 3 April 1947)ANDREWS, Nigel John
''Who's Who 2015'', A & C ...
in the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'', but the documentary maker "goes on too long. 110 minutes is a hefty time in screen politics, especially when we know the makers' message from scene one". Geoffrey Macnab described it as an "angry, impassioned documentary" while for
Mark Kermode Mark Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter (with Ellen E. Jones) of the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Screenshot'', and co-presenter ...
it is a "searing indictment of the ongoing mistreatment" of the first Australians.


''The Coming War on China'' (2016)

''The Coming War on China'' was Pilger's 60th film for ITV. The film premiered in the UK on Thursday 1 December 2016, and was shown on ITV at 10.40 pm on Tuesday 6 December and on the Australian public broadcaster SBS on 16 April 2017. In the documentary, according to Pilger, "the evidence and witnesses warn that nuclear war is no longer a shadow, but a contingency. The greatest build-up of American-led military forces since the Second World War is well under way. They are on the western borders of Russia, and in Asia and the Pacific, confronting China. Like the renewal of post-Soviet Russia, the rise of China as an economic power is declared an 'existential threat' to the divine right of the United States to rule and dominate human affairs". "The first third told, and told well, the unforgivable, unconscionable tale of what has overtaken the Marshall Islanders since 1946, when the US first nuked the test site on Bikini Atoll" beginning an extended series of tests, wrote Euan Ferguson in ''The Observer''. "Over the next 12 years they would unleash a total of 42.2 megatons. The islanders, as forensically proved by Pilger, were effectively guinea pigs for heeffects of radiation". Ferguson wrote that the rest of the film "was a sane, sober, necessary, deeply troubling bucketful of worries".
Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...
in ''The Guardian'' wrote that the film "lays bare the historical horrors of the US military in the Pacific, exposing the paranoia and pre-emptive aggression of its semi-secret bases," adding: "This is a gripping film, which though it comes close to excusing China ... does point out China's insecurities and political cruelties". Neil Young of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' called the film an "authoritative indictment of American nefariousness in the western Pacific". Kevin Maher wrote in ''The Times'' that he admired the early sequences on the Marshall Islands, but that he believed the film lacked nuance or subtlety. Maher wrote that, for Pilger, China is "a brilliant place with just some 'issues with human rights', but let's not go into that now". ''
Diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
'' columnist David Hutt said "Pilger consistently glosses over China's past crimes while dwelling on America's".


''The Dirty War on the National Health Service'' (2019)

Pilger's ''The Dirty War on the National Health Service'' was released in the UK on 29 November 2019 and examined the changes that the
NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
had undergone since its founding in 1948. Pilger makes the case that governments beginning with that of Margaret Thatcher have waged a secret war against the NHS with a view to privatising it slowly and surreptitiously. Pilger predicted that moves toward privatisation would create more poverty and homelessness and that the resulting chaos would be used as an argument for further "reform". Prior to the
2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 12 December 2019, with 47,074,800 registered voters entitled to vote to elect 650 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Un ...
, ITV were embargoed from publicising the documentary (as the election was on the 12th of December 2019). It was later broadcast on 17 December 2019. It was also referenced in a 2020 essay in The Nation magazine, "''How to Destroy a National Health Service''".


Reception

Peter Bradshaw described the documentary as a "fierce, necessary film". Emma Simmonds of the Radio Times said: "Pilger is a constant, typically authoritative, slightly doom-laden presence."


Views (1999–2023)


Australia

Writing for the New Matilda in 2020: "Today, Australia is a vassal state bar none: its politics, intelligence agencies, military and much of its media are integrated into Washington’s “sphere of dominance” and war plans. In Donald Trump's current provocations of China, the US bases in Australia are described as the “tip of the spear”.


Bush, Blair, Howard and wars

In 2003 and 2004, Pilger criticised United States President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, saying that he had used the
9/11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
as an excuse to invade Iraq as part of a strategy to increase US control of the world's oil supplies. In 2004, Pilger criticised British Prime Minister
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
as equally responsible for the invasion and the bungled
occupation of Iraq Occupation of Iraq or Iraq occupation may refer to: * Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011) (occupation by American, British and Italian forces) * Mandatory Iraq (Iraq under British Administration, 1921–1932) * Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014) ...
. In 2004, as the Iraq insurgency increased, Pilger wrote that the anti-war movement should support "Iraq's anti-occupation resistance:
We cannot afford to be choosy. While we abhor and condemn the continuing loss of innocent life in Iraq, we have no choice now but to support the resistance, for if the resistance fails, the "Bush gang" will attack another country".
Pilger described Australian Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
as "the mouse that roars for America, whipping his country into war fever and paranoia about terrorism within". He thought Howard's willingness to "join the Bush/Blair assault on Iraq ... evok da melancholy history of obsequious service to great power: from the
Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...
to the
Boer war The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
, to the disaster at Gallipoli, and
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and the
Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...
". On 25 July 2005, Pilger ascribed blame for the
2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, also referred to as 7/7, were a series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists that targeted commuters travelling on London's public transport during the morning rush hour. ...
that month to Blair. He wrote that Blair's decision to follow Bush helped to generate the rage that Pilger said precipitated the bombings. In his column a year later, Pilger described Blair as a
war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
for supporting Israel's actions during the
2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...
. He said that Blair gave permission to Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...
in 2001 to initiate what would ultimately become
Operation Defensive Shield Operation Defensive Shield ( ) was a 2002 Israeli military operation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during the Second Intifada. Lasting for just over a month, it was the largest combat operation in the territory since the 1967 Arab–Israe ...
. In 2014, Pilger wrote that "The truth about the criminal bloodbath in Iraq cannot be "countered" indefinitely. Neither can the truth about our support for the medievalists in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, the nuclear-armed predators in Israel, the new military fascists in
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and the jihadist "liberators" of Syria, whose propaganda is now BBC news".


Barack Obama

Pilger criticised
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
during his presidential campaign of 2008, saying that he was "a glossy
Uncle Tom Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. The character was seen in the Victorian era as a ground-breaking literary attack against the dehumanization of slaves. Tom is a deeply religious Chri ...
who would bomb
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
" and his theme "was the renewal of America as a dominant, avaricious bully". After Obama was elected and took office in 2009, Pilger wrote, "In his first 100 days, Obama has excused torture, opposed ''
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
'' and demanded more secret government". Sunny Hundal wrote in ''The Guardian'' during November 2008 that the "Uncle Tom" comment used against Obama "highlights a patronising attitude towards ethnic minorities. Pilger expects all black and brown people to be revolutionary brothers and sisters, and if they veer away from that stereotype, it can only be because they are pawns of a wider conspiracy".


Support for Julian Assange

Pilger supported
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
by pledging
bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...
in December 2010. Pilger said at the time: "There's no doubt that he is not going to abscond". Assange sought asylum in the Embassy of Ecuador in London in 2012 and Pilger's bail money was lost when a judge ordered it to be forfeited. Pilger had been critical of the media's treatment of Assange saying: "The same brave newspapers and broadcasters that have supported Britain's part in epic bloody crimes, from the
genocide in Indonesia Genocide is the genocidal intent, intentional destruction of a Genocide#"A national, ethnic, racial or religious group", people in Genocide#"In whole or in part", whole or in part. The term was coined in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin. It is defined ...
to the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, now attack the "human rights record" of Ecuador, whose real crime is to stand up to the bullies in London and Washington". He criticised the failure of the Australian government to object when it "repeatedly received confirmation that the US was conducting an 'unprecedented' pursuit of Assange" and noted that one of the reasons Ecuador gave for granting asylum to Assange was his abandonment by Australia. Pilger visited Assange in the embassy and continued to support him.


Comments about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton

In a February 2016 webchat on the website of ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Pilger said "Trump is speaking straight to ordinary Americans". Although his opinions about immigration were "gross", Pilger wrote that they are "no more gross in essence than, say,
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
's – he is not planning to invade anywhere, he doesn't hate the Russians or the Chinese, he is not beholden to Israel. People like this lack of cant, and when the so-called liberal media deride him, they like him even more". In March 2016, Pilger commented in a speech delivered at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
during the
2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...
, that
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
was a less dangerous potential President of the United States than
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
. In November 2016, Pilger said that "notorious terrorist jihadist group called
ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...
or ISIS is created largely with money from Saudi and the government of Qatar">Saudi_Arabia.html" ;"title="he government of Saudi Arabia">Saudi and the government of Qatarwho are giving money to the Clinton Foundation". In August 2017, in an article published on his website, Pilger wrote that a "coup against the man in the White House is under way. This is not because he is an odious human being, but because he has consistently made clear he does not want war with Russia. This glimpse of sanity, or simple pragmatism, is anathema to the 'national security' managers who guard a system based on war, surveillance, armaments, threats and extreme
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
". According to Pilger, ''The Guardian'' had published "drivel" in covering the claims "that the Russians conspired with Trump". Such assertions, he wrote, are "reminiscent of the far-right smearing of
John Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
as a 'Soviet agent'".


Russia

Pilger was a member of Committee of Supporters for the RAW in WAR Anna Politkovskaya Award. He had chosen
Anna Politkovskaya Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (; 30 August 1958 – 7 October 2006) was a Russians, Russian investigative journalist who reported on political and social events in Russia, in particular, the Second Chechen War (1999–2005). It was her repor ...
's work to a book edited by him, ''Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism And Its Triumphs'' (2004). Pilger also signed a petition demanding an international commission of inquiry to discover the truth behind Politkovskaya's murder. In an article in ''The Guardian'', John Pilger wrote in May 2014 that Vladimir Putin "is the only leader to condemn the rise of fascism in 21st-century Europe". Historian
Timothy Snyder Timothy David Snyder (born August 18, 1969) is an American historian specializing in the history of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. He is on leave from his position as the Richard C. Levin, Richar ...
assessed this statement as inaccurate since Russia at the time had organized meetings of European fascists and was subsidizing France's far Right party, the ''
National Rally The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...
'', until 2018 known as the ''National Front''. Pilger quoted in the article a Jewish doctor who had tried to rescue people from the burning trade union building during the
2014 Odesa clashes In early 2014, there were clashes between rival groups of protestors in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, during the pro-Russian unrest that followed the Ukrainian Revolution. The street clashes were between pro-unity (and pro-European) protesters ...
, and was stopped by Ukrainian Nazis with the threat that this fate would soon befall him and other Jews and that what happened yesterday would not have happened even during the fascist occupation in World War II. This claim was factually false, as several tens of thousands of Jews were murdered in three days in October 1941. It turned out that the man's quote came from a Facebook page that had been identified as a fake before the article was published. On the
Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal The poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, also known as the Salisbury poisoning, was a botched assassination attempt to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies in the cit ...
on 4 March 2018, Pilger said in an interview on Russia's RT: "This is a carefully constructed drama as part of the propaganda campaign that has been building now for several years in order to justify the actions of NATO, Britain and the United States, towards Russia. That's a fact". Such events as the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
, "at the very least should make us sceptical of Theresa May's theatrics in Parliament". He hinted that the UK government may have been involved in the attack, saying it had motive and that the nearby
Porton Down Porton Down is a science and defence technology campus in Wiltshire, England, just north-east of the village of Porton, near Salisbury. It is home to two British government facilities: a site of the Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and ...
laboratory has a "long and sinister record with nerve gas and chemical weapons". In January 2022, Pilger repeatedly denied that Russia was about to invade Ukraine, doing so even three days before the invasion. Following the start of the invasion, Pilger condemned Russia's actions, but stated that they were due to the enlargement of NATO towards Russia.


On journalism education

Since being invited to open the University of Lincoln's journalism school in 2004, Pilger told the packed room at its launch that "Too often courses are like factories churning out conformist journalists for the industry. They tend to promote a ‘top-down’ kind of journalism which prioritises elite sources. Too rarely do they promote journalism that prioritises the views of ‘ordinary’ people. From my experience these are the people I can trust the most.” Pilger disagreed with the term mainstream media in 2009 lecture to students at the University of Lincoln: "He disputed the label of “mainstream”, preferring to label it “corporate”, as the most prominent media outlets are often controlled by large corporations. “Those whose journalism is meant for the most people are the mainstream.”" In conversation with Charles Glass at the Frontline club in 2012, Pilger commented that: “Journalism students should be taught to be sceptical of their employers, sceptical of their governments. Governments are still portrayed as benign if they’re ours, and if they’re other’s, they’re not.” “Media is an extension of power but when we recognise that we become aware of official drivel and understand that the truth is subversive. It always is." Writing for Arena Online in 2022, Pilger said: "When will we allow ourselves to understand? Training journalists factory style is not the answer. Neither is the wondrous digital tool, which is a means, not an end, like the one-finger typewriter and the linotype machine. In recent years, some of the best journalists have been eased out of the mainstream. ‘Defenestrated’ is the word used. The spaces once open to mavericks, to journalists who went against the grain, truth-tellers, have closed." In an interview with the Independent's Rob Brown in 1998 he noted the difficulty journalism students had in securing work: "You say lots of allegedly wise things to students and at the end they invariably ask the same question: 'How do we get a job?' That's a big pressure on young people. It's made the true maverick in journalism an endangered species. People simply cannot afford to be mavericks any more." Remarking in an interview with Ian Burrell of the Independent in 2008 that "...many start with the same passion I started with" and implores them to "keep your principles as you navigate the system". His watchword remains, 'Never believe anything until it's officially denied,' a favourite expression of reporter Claud Cockburn, father of Independent journalist Patrick Cockburn.


Criticism of corporate journalism

In 2008, in an interview with Ian Burrell of the Independent, Pilger remarked: ""The influence of The Independent and Guardian are much greater than you would think. I don't believe the majority of people in Britain have the so-called values of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail and certainly not The Sun. That doesn’t mean to say they flock to read the Guardian and the Independent, clearly they don’t. But on occasion, these newspapers speak up and gesture towards people, or they pretend to. Without them there would be an entirely closed media.” He disagreed with the concept of mainstream media, telling an audience at the University of Lincoln in 2009: "I think the public is beginning to see the corporate media as a system of propaganda, a monoculture whose differences — rather like party politics — are illusory.”" Pilger criticised many journalists of the corporate media. During the administration of President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
in the US, Pilger attacked the
British-American Project The British-American Project (BAP) is an organisation intended to strengthen links between the United Kingdom and the United States. BAP operates on a not-for-profit basis, funded through its membership and support from corporate partners. It was ...
as an example of "Atlanticist
freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
". He asserted in November 1998 that "many members are journalists, the essential foot soldiers in any network devoted to power and propaganda". In 2002, he said that "many journalists now are no more than channellers and echoers of what
Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
called the official truth". Also in 2003, he criticised what he called the "liberal lobby" which "promote killing" from "behind a humanitarian mask". He said
David Aaronovitch David Morris Aaronovitch (born 8 July 1954) is an English journalist, television presenter and author. He was a regular columnist for ''The Times'' and the author of ''Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country'' (2000), ''Voodo ...
exemplified the "mask-wearers" and noted that Aaronovitch had written that the attack on Iraq will be "the easy bit". Aaronovitch responded to an article by Pilger about the mainstream media in 2003 as one of his "typical pieces about the corruption of most journalists (ie people like me aronovitch versus the bravery of a few (ie people like him)". In an address at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
on 14 April 2006, Pilger said:
During the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, a group of Russian journalists toured the United States. On the final day of their visit, they were asked by their hosts for their impressions. 'I have to tell you,' said their spokesman, 'that we were astonished to find after reading all the newspapers and watching TV, that all the opinions on all the vital issues were by and large, the same. To get that result in our country, we imprison people, we tear out their fingernails. Here, you don't have that. What's the secret? How do you do it?'
On another occasion, while speaking to journalism students at the
University of Lincoln The University of Lincoln is a public university, public research university in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, with origins dating back to 1861. It gained university status in 1992 and its present name in 2001. The main campus is in the hea ...
, Pilger said that mainstream journalism means corporate journalism. As such, he believes it represents vested corporate interests more than those of the public.


BBC

Pilger wrote in December 2002, of British broadcasting's requirement for "impartiality," as being "a euphemism for the consensual view of established authority". He wrote that "BBC television news faithfully echoed word for word" government "propaganda designed to soften up the public for Blair's attack on Iraq". In his documentary ''
The War You Don't See ''The War You Don't See'' is a 2010 British documentary film written, produced and directed by John Pilger with Alan Lowery, which challenges the media for the role they played in the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel/Palestine conflicts. The film ...
'' (2010), Pilger returned to this theme and accused the BBC of failing to cover the viewpoint of the victims, civilians caught up in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He additionally pointed to the 48 documentaries on Ireland made for the BBC and ITV between 1959 and the late-1980s which were delayed or altered before transmission, or totally suppressed.


Personal life

Pilger was married to journalist Scarth Flett, granddaughter of the physician and geologist Sir John Smith Flett. Their son Sam was born in 1973 and is a sports writer. Pilger also had a daughter,
Zoe Pilger Zoe Pilger (; born 1984) is an English author and art critic. Her first novel, ''Eat My Heart Out'', won a Betty Trask Award and a Somerset Maugham Award. Early life and career The daughter of journalists John Pilger and Yvonne Roberts, Zoe Pi ...
(who is an author and art critic), born 1984, with journalist
Yvonne Roberts Yvonne Roberts is a freelance English writer and journalist. She was born in 1948 in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire and has worked in newspaper and television journalism. She has published sixteen books, including novels and discussions of hu ...
. Outside of news and current affairs, Pilger enjoyed cooking, surfing, TV and sport. His favourite book is Joseph Heller's
Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. It was his debut novel. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it ...
and his favourite song:
Blue Moon Of Kentucky "Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1945 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, the Blue Grass Boys. Some think the origins may trace back to "Roll Along, Kentucky Moon", a similar waltz recorded 15 years prior by ...
by Elvis Presley Having appeared on Desert Island Discs on 18 Feb 1990, he revealed that his luxury item was a typewriter.


Death and tributes

Pilger died of
pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory ...
in London on 30 December 2023, at the age of 84; he is survived by Jane Hill, his partner for thirty years.


Tributes

The managing director of Media and Entertainment at ITV.
Kevin Lygo Kevin Lygo (born 19 September 1957) is a British television Executive (management), executive, currently Director of Television at ITV Network, ITV. Early life Lygo is the son of Royal Navy officer Raymond Lygo. Educated at Cranbrook School, Ken ...
, said "John was a giant of campaigning journalism. He had a clear, distinctive editorial voice which he used to great effect throughout his distinguished filmmaking career. His documentaries were engaging, challenging and always very watchable ..He eschewed comfortable consensus and instead offered a radical, alternative approach on current affairs and a platform for dissenting voices over 50 years" A number of journalists paid tribute to Pilger upon his death, including the BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson, former ''
Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...
'' presenter Jon Snow, Solomon Hughes of ''
Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...
'', and Ros Wynne-Jones of the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
''. The academic journal Ethical Space provided a number of tributes to Pilger, in addition to being collated on his website. The
45th News and Documentary Emmy Awards The 45th News and Documentary Emmy Awards were presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), to honor the best in American news and documentary programming in 2023. The winners were announced on two ceremonies held a ...
also paid tribute in 2024 (at 1:44). The BFI hosted the panel: The Pilger Effect: A celebration of the life and work of John Pilger.


Honours and awards

The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards: * 1966: Descriptive Writer of the Year * 1967: Journalist of the Year * 1970: International Reporter of the Year * 1974: News Reporter of the Year * 1978: Campaigning Journalist of the Year * 1979: Journalist of the Year Other awards: * 1991: Television Richard Dimbleby Award,
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
* 1991: At
19th International Emmy Awards The 19th annual International Emmy Awards took place on November 25, 1991, in New York City. The award ceremony was hosted by Roger Moore and presented by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (IATAS). A&E (TV network), A&E TV ...
Emmy for documentary 'Cambodia, the Betrayal' * 2009:
Sydney Peace Prize The Sydney Peace Prize is awarded by the Sydney Peace Foundation, a non profit organisation associated with the University of Sydney. The prize promotes peace with justice and the practice of nonviolence. It aims to encourage public interest and d ...
* 2003: Sophie's Prize * 2011: Grierson Trust Award, UK * 2017:
Order of Timor-Leste The Order of Timor-Leste () is the highest Order (honour), honour currently awarded by Timor-Leste. Established in 2009, the order was created after the original honours granted by Timor-Leste. It is of a more general and broader nature than the ...
Honours * 1994: An Honoury Doctor of Letters by the
University of Staffordshire The University of Staffordshire is a public research university in Staffordshire, England. It has its main campus in Stoke-on-Trent and four other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield, Shrewsbury, and London. History In 1901, industrialist Alfred ...
* 1995: An Honoury Doctor of Philosophy by
Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...
* 1997: An Honoury Doctor of Arts by
Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...
* 1999: An Honoury Doctor of Laws by
University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
* 2001: A Doctor Of The university by the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
* 2003: Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 Professor at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
* 2008: An Honoury Doctor of Letters by
Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...
* 2008: An Honoury Doctor of Arts awarded by the
University of Lincoln The University of Lincoln is a public university, public research university in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, with origins dating back to 1861. It gained university status in 1992 and its present name in 2001. The main campus is in the hea ...


In popular culture

A documentary filmmaker named John Pillinger appeared in an
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
''
Extremis "Extremis" is a six-issue story arc from the comic book series ''Iron Man (comic book), Iron Man'' (vol. 4), published in issues one through six in 2005 and 2006 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Adi Granov. ' ...
''
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
story written by
Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is an English comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ...
in January 2005. Pillinger interviews war profiteer
Tony Stark Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
for his documentary film ''The Ghosts of the Twentieth Century''. In Rap News 7, Revolution spreads to America by
Juice Rap News ''Juice Rap News'' was an internet based satirical news show, created in Melbourne by The Juice Media. The show was the creation of a duo, Hugo Farrant and Giordano Nanni, based in Australia and consists of a rapped "news report" with social co ...
, Pilger's impersonation employed his characteristics from his intonation, piece to camera and employed Pilgerist language from 'the war you don't see' to 'the two party system'.


Archive and legacy

In 2008, he was awarded the Doctor of Arts by the University of Lincoln and opened its school of journalism in 2004. In an interview with the Linc (the University of Lincoln's student newspaper) asked about how the award would be appreciated alongside his other awards, he replied: "Well, it’s already in pride of place on the wall of my office!" The John Pilger Archive is now housed at the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
. The papers can be accessed through the British Library catalogue. It was launched and based at the
University of Lincoln The University of Lincoln is a public university, public research university in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, with origins dating back to 1861. It gained university status in 1992 and its present name in 2001. The main campus is in the hea ...
from 2009 to 2017. The archive features his news reports, films and radio broadcasts and was digitised by former PhD student, now Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Dr Florian Zollmann. In an article for the New Matilda, ABC Brisbane presenter, David Iliffe spoke to Chris Graham, the new Matilda editor and associate producer of
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
about John's legacy. The UK's
Information Research Department The Information Research Department (IRD) was a secret Cold War propaganda department of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Foreign Office, created to publish anti-communist propaganda, including black propaganda, provide support and i ...
(IRD), a department of the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
, opened a file on Pilger in 1975. The file was passed to the Foreign Office's Special Production Unit when the IRD was shut down in 1977.
Declassified UK ''Declassified UK'' is an investigative journalism and media organisation founded in 2019 by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis. It describes itself as "the leading media organisation uncovering the UK's role in the world." Curtis is an established ...
published an article on the declassified files, which showed he was under covert monitoring; commenting prior to his death Pilger remarked "My reporting, which was really exclusive, it was telling people something that they didn't know, it was exposing a great deal, it was exposing the tyrants, but it was also exposing who was backing the tyrants secretly – it’s rather embarrassing."


Criticism

In adopting his non-impartial stance, Pilger often drew criticism from the political right who interpreted his work as controversial. ''The Guardian'''s obituary noted: "The ferocity of rightwing criticism of his views indicated the effectiveness of his journalism." As such he was met with criticism from the right-wing journalist
Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh ( ; 17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was a British journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...
(whose own ethics with regard to journalism was noted by the Guardian in his obituary: "Once he discovered the delights of the "freebie", he gave breathless accounts of his trips to the Orient, and the wonderful "Thai two-girl massage".) He went onto coin the verb "to Pilger" in reference to John Pilger, and its intended meaning was "presenting information in a sensationalist manner in support of a particular conclusion". In its obituary for Pilger, the ''
Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
'', wrote that "many regarded Pilger as the finest crusading journalist of his generation. He did much to draw world attention to some of the most notorious human rights abuses of the late 20th century". It criticised his 1990 coverage of the Cambodian genocide for not identifying Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge as communists, and criticised his praise for the Vietnam-backed government of Hun Sen for not mentioning that Hun Sen was a former member of the Khmer Rouge.
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
said that Pilger made people uncomfortable by exposing the awful reality of US foreign policy. The U.K. journalist
William Shawcross Sir William Hartley Hume Shawcross (born 28 May 1946) is a British journalist, writer, and broadcaster. He is the incumbent Commissioner for Public Appointments. From 2012 to 2018 he chaired the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Shawcr ...
described Pilger as "dangerous to the causes which he claims to espouse". He was also met with criticism from the left with journalist
Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a left-wing British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'', ''Tribune (magazine), Tribune ...
responding to his criticism in CounterPunch written in 2016


Bibliography

Books * ''The Last Day'' (1975) * ''Aftermath: The Struggles of Cambodia and Vietnam'' (1981) * ''The Outsiders'' (with
Michael Coren Michael Coren (born 15 January 1959) is a British-Canadian writer and clergyman. A long-time television personality, Coren hosted '' The Michael Coren Show'' on the Crossroads Television System from 1999 to 2011 before moving to the Sun News ...
, 1984) * ''Heroes'' (1986), (2001) * ''A Secret Country'' (1989) * ''Distant Voices'' (1992 and 1994) * ''Hidden Agendas'' (1998) * ''Reporting the World: John Pilger's Great Eyewitness Photographers'' (2001) * ''The New Rulers of the World'' (2002; 4th ed. 2016) * ''Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and its Triumphs'' (ed.) Cape (2004) * ''Freedom Next Time'' (2006) Plays * ''The Last Day'' (1983)


Documentaries

* ''World in Action'' ** "The Quiet Mutiny" (1970) *Conversations With a Working Man (1971) *Palestine Is Still The Issue (Part 1) (1974) *Vietnam: Still America's War (1974) *Guilty Until Proven Innocent (John Pilger) (1974) *Thalidomide: The Ninety-Eight We Forgot (1974) *The Most Powerful Politician in America (1974) *One British Family (1974) * ''Pilger'' ** "An Unfashionable Tragedy" (1975) ** "Nobody's Children" (1975) ** "Zap-The Weapon is Food" (1976) ** "Pyramid Lake is Dying" (1976) ** "Street of Joy" (1976) ** "A Faraway Country" (1977) *Mr Nixon's Secret Legacy (1975) *Smashing Kids] (1975) *To Know Us Is To Love Us (1975) *A Nod & A Wink (1975) *Pilger in Australia (1976) *Dismantling A Dream (1977) *An Unjustifiable Risk (1977) *The Selling of the Sea (1978) * ''Do You Remember Vietnam'' (1978) * '' Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia'' (1979) * ''The Mexicans'' (1980) *Cambodia: Year One (1980) * ''Heroes'' (1980) *Island of Dreams (John Pilger)(1981) * ''In Search of Truth in Wartime'' (1983) * ''Nicaragua. A Nations Right to Survive'' (1983) * ''The Outsiders'' (series, 1983) * ''The Truth Game'' (1983) * ''Burp! Pepsi V Coke in the Ice Cold War'' (1984) * '' The Secret Country: The First Australians Fight Back'' (1985) * ''Japan Behind the Mask'' (1987) * ''The Last Dream'' (1988) ** "Heroes unsung" ** "Secrets" ** "Other People's Wars" *Cambodia: Year Ten (1989) * ''Cambodia, the Betrayal'' (1990) * ''War By Other Means'' (1992) * ''Cambodia: Return to Year Zero'' (1993) * '' Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy'' (1994) * ''Flying the Flag, Arming the World'' (1994) * '' Vietnam: The Last Battle'' (1995) * '' Inside Burma: Land of Fear'' (1996) * ''Breaking the Mirror – The Murdoch Effect'' (1997) * ''Apartheid Did Not Die'' (1998) * ''
Welcome to Australia ''Welcome to Australia'' is a 1999 Carlton Television documentary, written and presented by John Pilger and directed and produced by Alan Lowery that demonstrates the injustices endured by Aboriginal Australian sportsmen and women who were, unti ...
'' (1999) * '' Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq'' (2000) * ''The New Rulers of the World'' (2001) * ''
Palestine Is Still the Issue ''Palestine Is Still the Issue'' is a 2002 Carlton Television documentary, written and presented by John Pilger and directed by Tony Stark, inspired by the book ''Drinking The Sea at Gaza'' by Amira Hass. Pilger visits the Middle East and tries ...
'' (2002) * '' Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror'' (2003) * ''
Stealing a Nation ''Stealing a Nation'' is a 2004 Granada Television documentary about the British–American clandestine operation that saw the expulsion of the Chagossian population who have lived on Diego Garcia and neighbouring islands since the late 18th c ...
'' (2004) * '' The War on Democracy'' (2007) * ''
The War You Don't See ''The War You Don't See'' is a 2010 British documentary film written, produced and directed by John Pilger with Alan Lowery, which challenges the media for the role they played in the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel/Palestine conflicts. The film ...
'' (2010) * ''
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
'' (2013) * ''The Coming War on China'' (2016) * ''The Dirty War on the NHS'' (2019)


References


External links

* *
''Freedom Next Time: Filmmaker & Journalist John Pilger on Propaganda, the Press, Censorship and Resisting the American Empire''
''
Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long TV, radio, and Internet news program based in Manhattan and hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live ...
'', 7 August 2007
John Pilger at Random House Australia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilger, John 1939 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Australian journalists 21st-century Australian journalists Anti-Americanism Anti-imperialists Australian anti-Zionists Australian anti–Iraq War activists Australian documentary filmmakers Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Australian freelance journalists Australian indigenous rights activists Australian investigative journalists Australian Marxists Australian people of English descent Australian people of German descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian political commentators Australian republicans Australian war correspondents *Pilger Daily Mirror people Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis Mass media theorists Media critics Activists for Palestinian solidarity People educated at Sydney Boys High School Writers from Sydney RT (TV network) people War correspondents of the Nigerian Civil War War correspondents of the Vietnam War