Belen Fernandez in "Imperial Messenger" scrutinises the record of star New York Times reporter and pontificator in chief, as well as the writer of a number of bestselling books (see
The Lexus and the Olive Tree
and
The World is Flat
), Thomas Friedman. Of course such a prominent figure as Friedman has been critiqued (and mercilessly skewered) before by the likes of Edward W. Said, Greg Palast, Noam Chomsky and Robert Fisk but this, to the best of my knowledge, is the first time that he has been subjected to a comprehensive book length debunking. It is richly deserved.
That Friedman has as his perch from which to pontificate the editorial pages of the leading U.S. "quality" newspaper can only be regarded as a stunning indictment of the mainstream media of that country. When appointed chief diplomatic correspondent of the Times, having served for years as their lead correspondent in the Middle East, he claimed to know nothing about the modus operanda or institutions of international relations despite the relevance the world at large has to accurate and informed reporting of that region! This is but one specimen of Friedmans ignorance which he more or less regards as a badge of honour. Examples of this litter "Imperial Messenger" along with other Friedman phenomena such as his casual racism (reserved for Arabs) and crude machismo; weird anecdotes and surreal mixed-metaphors; flippant and fatuous analysis; the numerous occasions in which he contradicts himself (even within a single piece of writing); as well as his role as cheerleader for the Neo-Liberal project (he states that he wrote an article in favour of the Caribbean Free Trade Area treaty, even though he knew nothing of the contents of the treaty, solely because it contained the words "Free Trade"!). On the U.S., Israel and the Arab world he is quite capable of momentarily recognising some of the reality of the actions of the U.S. and Israeli governments before excusing them of any significant responsibility for the regions woes.
Fernandez records the contradictions, crudities and falsehoods of Friedman in a straightforward manner. Thankfully, given the depressing nature of her subject, she also exhibits a fine line in caustic wit that spares him no blushes. In short "Imperial Messenger" is a fine addition to the growing body of work that critiques the mainstream media in the Anglo-Saxon world, and one that I'd recommend to anyone who privileges reality over rhetoric, or as an antidote for those who believes that Friedman is some sort of visionary uber columnist rather than the smug, servile and pompous windbag exposed within the pages of this short (145pp + 60pp of notes) book.
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Top reviews from other countries
User1229091
Un sicario mediático exhibido en sus contradicciones.
Reviewed in the United States on 26 September 2019M. Young
OK, but impossible to read.
Reviewed in the United States on 25 August 2013
