Scott Simon, to those who are not familiar with NPR in the U.S. is a radio journalist who writes off Michael Moore as plankton in the murky pond of journalism: a ‘gonzodemogogue’ who doesn’t care for facts. (Wall Street Journal OP-ED, July 24, 2004.) (Simon covered the was in Afghanistan in 2002, and wrote a powerful ‘why we must fight’ piece here on 10/11 of that fateful year.)

Simon’s withering criticism of Fahrenheit/911 is valuable because NPR is often dismissed as the epitome of ‘left wing media.’ So why would a journalist of a lefty radio network take on the left’s spokesperson at large? How about redeeming journalism itself?

Mr. Moore has to face up to journalists because a documentary fortunately or unfortunately falls into a category of information rather than entertainment. Oliver Stone can get away with c-theories, because he is a storyteller not a documentary maker. Simon observes that

“Mr. Moore ignores or misrepresents the truth, prefers innuendo to fact, edits with poetic license rather than accuracy, and strips existing news footage of its contents to make events and real people say what he wants, even when they don’t.”

Because of this, says Simon, one has to suspect everything Moore uses as footage. (nice irony here: a conspiracy theory about a conspiracy theorist!) In the ‘rigor mortis’ scene (if you haven’t seen the movie, too bad) there is no reason to trust him, he says.

“A few basic details, like where and when the video was shot, are considered traditional reporting techniques…”

Whether you agree with Michael Moore or not, the movie is very powerful, but it’s certainly not a documentary –in the same way that ‘shockvertising’ ain’t marketing. It’s as biased as heck. That’s OK with me. I don’t believe that there is any medium or genre that is bias-free. But those who make a business out of bias, have to realize that they do live in glass houses –as in this OTHER documentary tries to expose!