Thursday, January 25, 2007
John Burns
NYT reporter John Burns was a guest on Charlie Rose for a full hour discussing Iraq. Iraq is now like a weather system, changing unpredictably and significantly on an hourly basis, buffeted by a kaleidoscope of opinion and the fog of disturbing events; Iraq is a study in chaos theory at its darkest. For anyone interested in events on this horrifying stage, sorting it out requires great reportage.
Burns has the rare ability to report reliably (long-standing good sources); to knowingly assess the value of the information and without agenda, to apply a simple human wisdom to the facts at hand. His opinions are folded into the ambiguities of reality — offered modestly. Being on the scene can sometimes narrow your understanding rather than enhance it, but somehow Burns has managed to keep his balance and grasp of the greater context. You would think that this would be a journalistic default, but rather, it is so unique as to be worthy of a weblog entry by itself — in addition to the information that came out in the interview that warrants writing the Executive-Editor: Burns said he might be leaving Iraq — a venue he regards as the most important of his career and to which he would gladly adhere. Write Bill Keller and tell the NYT to keep Burns on in Iraq.