能講嗎？
89歲資深女記者海倫‧托馬斯（Helen Thomas），自1961年起便開始採訪白宮新聞，前後經歷了十一任總統。在白宮的新聞發布室裡有托馬斯的專用座位，奧巴馬總統去年還拿著蛋糕到發布室為她祝壽。這位長壽、敬業及備受尊重的新聞工作者，昨日不情願地宣布退休，原因是她的東家把她開除了，理由是她說了一些敵視以色列的言論。
事情發生在上月27日，一名猶太教拉比在白宮一個慶祝以色列傳統的活動上遇到托馬斯。該名拉比有自己新聞網站，拿出了攝錄機訪問托馬斯，問她對以色列有何評論。托馬斯劈頭一句：「滾出巴勒斯坦，他們是佔領者」，接著拉比問那麼以色列人要到哪裡去呢？托馬斯說：「波蘭、德國、美國，任何地方都可以。」
托馬斯的言論被拉比放上網後即時引一遍譴責之聲，指她仇視以色列人，連白宮和聘請她寫時事專欄的新聞機構都加入批評行列。結果，這位傳奇式的年長新聞工作者有了一個極不光彩的退休理由。在她離開白宮採訪行列之後，曾與她一起工作的同行記者，表示對托馬斯的反以色列言論並不意外，她向來就是借提問來表示對以色列的不滿。
托馬斯從事媒體工作數十年，但卻沒有得到行家的同情，因為她犯了新聞極大的禁忌──中立客觀，嚴重的政治不正確。好些人質疑如此帶有偏見的人能是一位好的新聞工作者嗎？
公然要以色列人回到德國，實在是難以為人接受十分尖酸的言論，被譴責也是合理的。不過，犯了不客觀毛病的記者絕對不止托馬斯一人，再者，托馬斯當日是以被訪者身分發言，因此而被炒魷魚，又是否值得商榷呢？托馬斯事件深度反映了所謂「言論自由」，其實是很有界限的。
1 comment:
Maybe it's time for Helen Thomas to retired. She is too old to work. It is time to enjoy the golden years.
Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. Say anything you want, but you have to watch out when and where you say it.
She should have that comment released when she is out of the news agency business. Without a job title, her opinion will be treated as comments from an ordinary citizen with extensive news business background.
She put the cart in front of the horse this time.
It could be she is too angry that the Jews were doing all the terrorists acts. She forgot at the time of the incident, she was employed as an employee of a relevant news agency.
Still, the reason of resignation is better than any members of the Washington, DC circle.
"I am going to spend more time with my family". She did not use this standard reason.
Come to think of it. Helen Thomas could be a Jewish origin.
She said what's on her mind. She forgot to withhold her personal opinion because she is bearing a
journalist job title.
The news agency business are all control by who? You guess it right. Who else? The Jews in the country.
The Jewish bosses are not going to allow this. They are going to punish Helen to the fullest extent.
I think Helen got fired once before. She worked for Associated Press before (? The Bush administration).
Very soon, there will be another
position created for her. Just wait and see. She is the queen of journalism. She is old enough and good enough to deserve this. She doe not have to find a job. She will demand what she wants.
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