Michael Walsh

Literally, almost literally, every man was bribable and every woman was a freelance prostitute. Almost within a certain age group. So you could get your way by moving in the black interstices of that country. And that's how people flourished. They listened to all the rock music they could get. I had a friend there who basically bootlegged rock albums in the 80s from our American 60s and 70s.

Literally, almost literally, every man was bribable and every woman was a freelance prostitute. Almost within a certain age group. So you could get your way by moving in the black interstices of that country. And that's how people flourished. They listened to all the rock music they could get. I had a friend there who basically bootlegged rock albums in the 80s from our American 60s and 70s.

And so just to say one last thing about this, I came back in the 80s. I went with Vladimir Horowitz, the famous great pianist. And President Reagan had us to the White House. And that was the episode where Nancy Reagan fell off the stage. But that's a whole other story. I went on the Lynn Samuel show in New York. And she was a leftist, liberal talk show host on WABC, I think. And I said in 86...

And so just to say one last thing about this, I came back in the 80s. I went with Vladimir Horowitz, the famous great pianist. And President Reagan had us to the White House. And that was the episode where Nancy Reagan fell off the stage. But that's a whole other story. I went on the Lynn Samuel show in New York. And she was a leftist, liberal talk show host on WABC, I think. And I said in 86...

germany will be reunited within five years and everybody laughed at me and i was way off because it was three years that germany was reunited but if you this my point is if you're a good journalist or an honest journalist you go in objectively without preconditions and you could see these countries were doomed they were collapsing they had collapsed morally

germany will be reunited within five years and everybody laughed at me and i was way off because it was three years that germany was reunited but if you this my point is if you're a good journalist or an honest journalist you go in objectively without preconditions and you could see these countries were doomed they were collapsing they had collapsed morally

but nothing worked the place was a mess it stank to high heaven there's a smell about communist countries you never get out of your nose and so when when they both came down i i wasn't surprised it's just that we were so committed and i must say our government uh especially the cia was so committed to the notion that the soviets were our antithesis another first world country with nuclear weapons

but nothing worked the place was a mess it stank to high heaven there's a smell about communist countries you never get out of your nose and so when when they both came down i i wasn't surprised it's just that we were so committed and i must say our government uh especially the cia was so committed to the notion that the soviets were our antithesis another first world country with nuclear weapons

And I said, you've got to be kidding. It's a third world country of peasants with nuclear weapons, which actually makes it more dangerous than you think it is. So I would just say, you know, to the point about the media, just tell the truth for God's sakes. It's not that hard. And don't let people badger you into framing it into some kind of overarching narrative, as you discovered on CNN.

And I said, you've got to be kidding. It's a third world country of peasants with nuclear weapons, which actually makes it more dangerous than you think it is. So I would just say, you know, to the point about the media, just tell the truth for God's sakes. It's not that hard. And don't let people badger you into framing it into some kind of overarching narrative, as you discovered on CNN.

Well, I think being 75 has taught me that wishes and reality sometimes don't coincide. But what we did in this book is I asked 40 other writers, many people of color,

Well, I think being 75 has taught me that wishes and reality sometimes don't coincide. But what we did in this book is I asked 40 other writers, many people of color,

very distinct uh distinctive and honorable bylines to attack the media from all sides so we did it as political entity we did it as an entertainment medium a number of us were critics i wrote a piece uh the two pieces that i wrote for the book one was about my experience as a music critic and functioning in the media. We did it about propaganda. We hit it from all angles that we could.

very distinct uh distinctive and honorable bylines to attack the media from all sides so we did it as political entity we did it as an entertainment medium a number of us were critics i wrote a piece uh the two pieces that i wrote for the book one was about my experience as a music critic and functioning in the media. We did it about propaganda. We hit it from all angles that we could.

Not so much to say, how can we improve? Because that's the beginning. Objectivity. That's been thrown out now, Drew. It's interesting for me to hear some of my old colleagues at Time Magazine who are on Morning Joe regularly and have large Twitter followings and have been in the State Department. say, there's not two sides to every story. There's only one side.

Not so much to say, how can we improve? Because that's the beginning. Objectivity. That's been thrown out now, Drew. It's interesting for me to hear some of my old colleagues at Time Magazine who are on Morning Joe regularly and have large Twitter followings and have been in the State Department. say, there's not two sides to every story. There's only one side.

And they were literally coming out during the election and saying, you cannot write anything good about Donald Trump. That is a violation of journalistic ethics. There is only one story to be told here. And when journalism gets to that part, then what's the difference between it and Pravda? That was my question. Nothing.

And they were literally coming out during the election and saying, you cannot write anything good about Donald Trump. That is a violation of journalistic ethics. There is only one story to be told here. And when journalism gets to that part, then what's the difference between it and Pravda? That was my question. Nothing.

Yeah, well, there were two newspapers in the Soviet Union, Pravda and Izvestia. And Pravda means truth and Izvestia means news. And people would say there's no news in the truth and there's no truth in the news. And that was pretty much how they viewed their own state-run media. And the sad thing now, Drew, is that a lot of the European media is is turning into that.

Yeah, well, there were two newspapers in the Soviet Union, Pravda and Izvestia. And Pravda means truth and Izvestia means news. And people would say there's no news in the truth and there's no truth in the news. And that was pretty much how they viewed their own state-run media. And the sad thing now, Drew, is that a lot of the European media is is turning into that.