Covering Jesse Jackson and carefully double checking
It was a different time for America, a different time for journalism. I was a writer for Life magazine, covering the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination campaign — the one that led Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis to face Vice President George HW Bush in the general election. My mission was to follow Jesse Jackson, who was leading a campaign against Dukakis and several others.
Even after losing the nomination to Dukakis, Jackson kept a firm grip on the Democratic Party and its chances for success in November. At the end of the summer, I visited him for an in-depth interview. Jackson greeted me at the door of his modest home and suggested we talk outside where he set up two folding chairs in the driveway. His children played basketball. I was concerned about interference with my recording and asked Jackson to ask them to delay their match.
“No,” he replied dryly.
He then unwrapped a hard suckable candy as we talked, crumpled the wrapper into a ball and, as if he himself were on the field assessing a corner to the net, tossed the wrapper into my bag. It wasn’t exactly a respectful gesture, but Jackson had a history of being difficult with reporters, and I was just another target.
Reviewing the transcript the next day, I came across a surprising passage regarding negotiations for the release of American hostages held by radical Islamic groups in Lebanon. The fate of the hostages was a campaign issue and I had asked Jackson about it. His response, according to the transcript, included this passage: “The problem is capitalist Jews…”
I was stunned. How could I not have heard this at the time and acted on it? Was it because of the noise from the basketball game? What exactly did he say about the Jews? It was an inflammatory reference, especially since in 1984 Jackson had referred to Jews as “Hymies” and New York City as “Hymietown.”
My editors and I replayed the tape several times. Knowing how explosive this would be, we wanted to be sure of what he was saying. It was difficult to understand, even though it seemed to match the transcription. Yet we decided we couldn’t print it without confronting it first.
I called Jackson home and read the lyrics to him carefully. Surprised and a little angry, he asked for the transcript to be faxed to him. He then reiterated and clarified what he was saying: “the problem is that the kidnappers are using the hostages to get what they want” (meaning what they could not get through peaceful means) and not a reference to “capitalist Jews.” Listening to the tape again, it made perfect sense.
We all know that in the print era, journalism was deliberate, circumspect, more forgiving and determined to get it right, an approach that required time and considerable benefit of the doubt. However, the story makes me think. How would such an episode play out today?
In our climate of social media rush, such explosive remarks go viral within minutes of being uttered, even if they may have been misheard, and the damage can be considerable.
With Jackson, I’m happy we did it right.
Brewster is a veteran journalist who has worked for Time Life and ABC News. With Peter Jennings, he co-wrote “The Century,” a best-selling book on 20th century history.
