Cover-Up

In an age where it seems that troubling developments are ubiquitously lurking beneath the surface of public awareness, the need for intrepid investigative journalists to bring these stories to light is probably greater than ever. Unfortunately, such reporters have increasingly become a vanishing breed, especially in the mainstream media. Luckily, though, there are still some committed, courageous correspondents out there – mostly free-lancers – who are diligently working to bring these revelations to light. And one of the most prolific among them is veteran investigator Seymour “Sy” Hersh,…

I thought there something of the Sydney Schanberg to parts of this powerful biographical documentary on acclaimed American investigative reporter Seymour Hersh. Perhaps that's because like Schanberg's reportage from the neighbouring Killing Fields, he started his career in Vietnam and reported on matters that many at home didn't really want to read. His initial focus wasn't so much on the brutalities of the VC, though, as on the shocking actions of certain American soldiers who were accused of slaughtering unarmed civilians. Facing fairly unbridled hostility from the press and the government…