Being a Jewish journalist is hard work! After a couple of semesters at San Jose State in the journalism department, I find myself in an awkward and full-time position of “inhouse critic” of the Spartan Daily, in a program where the credo is: if you aren't anti-Bush, you must be evil. Last semester I was challenged with two student editors at the Daily who weren't with Israel in any stretch of the imagination. They said and did some things that baffled me as a journalist. But after a few lost battles, I thought it best to lay down my sword and shield and move on with my life.
Alas, here I am again. This semester has barely begun and already I am considering bringing the armor back out of the closet, this time to quell the anti-Israel sentiment among faculty. Well, one to be exact. John McManus.
He teaches global communication to a room full of young and impressionable minds. It all started when he invited the Washington bureau chief of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, Yaron Deckel, to speak in his class about a different perspective of journalism. Little did the journalist know, he was walking into a lion's den. The professor and one or two of the students posed provocative questions about the “illegal security fence” and at one point McManus asked if Israel was illegally occupying Palestine.
The journalist, incredulous, answered, “I'm just asking, what's the best headline. I'm not trying to solve the conflict in the Middle East.”
The class laughed and the professor stopped trying to turn the lecture into a political brawl.
When I wrote both the preview and review article on the lecture, I took notes and submitted the articles to my then-managing editor, who was also present at the event. 'Nuff said.
A few weeks ago, an e-mail was leaked to me from this meshugenah professor in response to an offer by Hillel and the Israeli embassy to send speakers to the guest lecture to journalism students. He replied in an e-mail to the journalism faculty and staff:
“In the spring term I invited an Israeli journalist made available in a similar way -- through the Israeli embassy. I asked him to address a series of questions about global communication -- the topic of the class. He didn't discuss a single one. Instead, he turned the class into a propaganda session trying to persuade the students that Israel is unfairly treated in the U.S. press. That might have been a useful discussion were it based on data, but it wasn't. Several students found it offensive. And, of course, it was totally one-sided.”
To me, this response is completely counter-intuitive to objective journalism. To paraphrase the journalist who spoke: you bring the news, pleasant or otherwise. McManus is clearly reacting because he didn't like what he heard.
Ironically, McManus also guest lectures in other journalism classes. He came to speak in one of my classes well before this whole affair. He went on and on about oil, George W. Bush, and, of course, how Israel is responsible for a war. (Mel, looks like you have a friend?) I came to the same conclusion about him that he did about the journalist:
“In the spring term my teacher invited Professor John McManus. He was asked to address a series of questions about his failing website that attempts to be a watchdog on the media-- one of the topics of the class. He didn't discuss a single one. Instead, he turned the class into a propaganda session trying to persuade the students that Israel is the reason for the Iraq War. That might have been a useful discussion were it based on data, but it wasn't. Several students found it offensive. And, of course, it was totally one-sided.”
Looks like I'll have a few dents in the old shield and helmet by the time I graduate (if I haven't sabotaged my academic career but taking a professor head-on), but who will fill the post if I didn't?
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