Obits can get political, says Chris Reed

THE FOLLOWING COMES FROM OUR INTERNATIONAL OBIT-WRITING COLLEAGUE CHRIS REED:

Obits can get political too. See how my obit on Abe Rosenthal was used in a devastating rebuttal to the "P.T. Barnum" of neo-liberalism, the New York Times's Thomas Friedman's absurd claim that the late Abe did not influence his correspondents' political reporting.

Of the Big Three (WP, NYT, LAT), not one mentioned Ray Bonner's superb reporting from El Salvador, for which Abe cravenly humiliated and demoted him. The NYT now looks stupid for not doing so.

Lesson: Obits are political too.

ROSENTHAL LINKS:

To read Alexander Cockburn's lead piece of May 15 - which includes an excerpt from Chris Reed's story, go to www.counterpunch.org and scroll down a little

And read Chris Reed's Rosenthal obituary from The Guardian of London.

You should be able to find the New York Times' Rosenthal obituary and Friedman's Rosenthal reflections at www.nytimes.com, but you have to be a subscriber. You also could go to your library or your newspaper's electronic library.

As an alternative, read Stephen Miller's Rosenthal obit in the New York Sun.