It was a different time for America, a different time for journalism. I was a writer with Life magazine covering the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination campaign — the one that resulted in Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis facing off against Vice President George H. W. Bush in the general election. My assignment was to follow Jesse Jackson, who was running an upstart campaign against Dukakis and several others.
Even after losing the nomination to Dukakis, Jackson held a firm grip on the Democratic Party and its chances for success in November. Late that summer, I visited him for an extensive interview. Jackson greeted me at the door of his modest home and suggested we talk outside where he propped up two folding chairs on the driveway. His children were playing basketball. I was concerned about interference with my recording and requested that Jackson ask them to delay their game.
“No,” he replied curtly.
He then unwrapped a hard sugar candy to suck on while we talked, crumpled the wrapping into a ball and, as if he were on the court himself sizing up a corner shot to the net, tossed the wrapper into my satchel. Not exactly a respectful gesture, but Jackson had a history of being difficult with reporters, and I was just one more target.
As I reviewed the transcript the next day, I came upon a startling passage regarding negotiations for the release of American hostages being held by radical Islamic groups in Lebanon. The fate of the hostages was a campaign issue, and I had asked Jackson about it. His answer, according to the transcript, included this passage: “The problem is the capitalist Jews…”
I was stunned. How could I have not heard this in the moment and followed up? Was it because of the noise of the basketball game? What, precisely, was he saying about Jews? It was an incendiary 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 multiple times. Knowing what an explosive story this would make, we wanted to be sure of what he said. It was difficult to understand, even if did seem to match the transcript. Still, we decided we couldn’t print it without first confronting him.
I called Jackson at his home and carefully read the words to him. Surprised and a bit angry, he requested that the transcript be faxed to him. He then called back and clarified what he was saying — that “the problem is the captors use 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, that made perfect sense.
We all know that journalism in the age of print was deliberate, circumspect, more forgiving, and determined to get it right, an approach requiring time and considerable benefit of the doubt. Still, the story makes me wonder. How would such an episode play out today?
In our rush-to-social media climate, bombshell remarks like that go viral minutes after they’ve been spoken, even if they might have been misheard, and the damage can be substantial.
With Jackson, I am glad we got it right.
Brewster is a veteran journalist who worked for Time Life and ABC News. With Peter Jennings, he co-authored “The Century,” a bestselling history of the 20th century.
