NORMAN SOLOMON RECEIVES 1999 GEORGE ORWELL AWARD
NATIONALLY SYNDICATED COLUMNIST NORMAN SOLOMON won the 1999 George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. Presented by the National Council of Teachers of English, the award was given to Solomon for his recent book, THE HABITS OF HIGHLY DECEPTIVE MEDIA (Common Courage Press, 1999), a collection of columns about media and politics.
In the introduction to Solomon's book, Jonathan Kozol writes: "The tradition of Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, and I.F. Stone does not get much attention these days in the mainstream press ... but that tradition is alive and well in this collection of courageously irreverent columns on the media by Norman Solomon. . . . He fights the good fight without fear of consequence. He courts no favors. He writes responsibly and is meticulous on details, but he does not choke on false civility."
Norman Solomon's Statement:
ABOUT THIRTY YEARS AGO, as a junior in high school, I entered an essay contest spon-sored by the National Council of Teachers of English. I forget the question that I was ostensibly answering-but I remember choosing to write about a novel that I'd recently read, Edward Bellamy's LOOKING BACKWARD. (I received an honorable mention.)
Today, looking back on the last decades of the 20th century, we can see that much has gone wrong in mass media. I titled my book "The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media" to emphasize that the prevailing patterns of public discourse are habitually disconnected from human realities.
The censorship and media manipulation that pervade our society are rarely heavy-handed. They are not implemented by commissars or dictators, generals or gendarmes. Instead, those who choose the mass-media options presented to the general public are working for outfits with names like Viacom, Time Warner, News Corporation, and Disney.
The doublespeak and doublethink that infuse so much of this country's media and politics are flourishing within a circumscribed atmosphere. Internalized, the limits come to seem natural-indeed, "professional." So, when an agency called the Defense Department fires missiles at faraway urban areas, US journalism stands up and salutes. Official themes reverberate in the national media's echo chamber. Meanwhile, inconvenient facts remain buried. Supposed media watchdogs function more like lapdogs for corporate interests and government authorities.
Half a century ago, George Orwell commented: "Circus dogs jump when the trainer cracks his whip, but the really well-trained dog is the one that turns his somersault when there is no whip." In late 1999, few whips are cracking in US newsrooms. But media somersaults are routine-with enormous consequences.
On behalf of the concerns raised in THE HABITS OF HIGHLY DECEPTIVE MEDIA, I want to express my appreciation for this NCTE award. Looking ahead, we face huge challenges. As Orwell noted long ago, language "becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts." When facing the power of corporatized media, it's easy to take the path of least resistance, going along to get along. But we can do much better than that.
The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media:
Decoding Spin and Lies in Mainstream News
by Norman Solomon
Common Courage Press, P.O. Box 702, Monroe, ME 04951, <www.commoncouragepress.com>