https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-31/australian-journalist-documentarian-john-pilger-dies-aged-84/103276142


Quote:

Linus Active member Today at 11:46 AM New Add bookmark #1 "Veteran Australian journalist and documentary-maker John Pilger dies in London, aged 84 Veteran Australian journalist John Pilger has died in London, aged 84. Key points: John Pilger's family have remembered him as "the most amazing and loved Dad, Grandad and partner" The journalist and documentary-maker won an Emmy, a BAFTA and the Sydney Peace Prize during his career He was highly critical of Western foreign policy and Australia's treatment of its Indigenous peoples His family announced his death in a post on social media, saying Pilger's journalism and documentaries were "celebrated around the world". "To his family he was simply the most amazing and loved Dad, Grandad and partner," they wrote. Pilger is survived by his son Sam and daughter Zoe. Sam Pilger wrote on social media platform X: "I am heartbroken, but also so very proud and grateful to have had such an amazing Dad. He was my hero." John Pilger grew up in Sydney's Bondi, before working as a reporter for the Reuters news agency and as a foreign correspondent for Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper. In his 20s he became the first person to have won Britain's Journalist of the Year award twice. He later moved to the United States, where he reported on the social upheaval of the late 1960s and 1970s, including the assassination of Robert Kennedy, for which he was present. He also received acclaim for his reporting from South-East Asia, including documentaries on conflicts in Vietnam, Cambodia and East Timor. His documentaries won numerous awards, including an Emmy and a BAFTA, and he was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in 2009. In addition to railing against Western foreign policy throughout his career, Pilger was a staunch critic of Australia's treatment of its Indigenous peoples. He made a series of documentaries on the topic, including The Secret Country (1985), Welcome to Australia (1999) and Utopia (2013). In more recent years, he was a visible supporter and friend of Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who he said had launched a "moral revolution in journalism". Leading the tributes to Pilger on social media, former ABC journalist Quentin Dempster wrote on X: "Pilger exposed atrocity, war crimes, abuse of power, dispossession, hypocrisy and dirty tricks around the world in a life of fearless truth telling. May he rest in peace." Broadcaster and ABC Late Night Live host Phillip Adams wrote: "Vale John Pilger. Friend of mine, of Julian Assange and of the truth. A sad end to a bad year.""

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/dec/31/john-pilger-campaigning-journalist-dies-aged-84

The World Has Lost John Pilger

One of the greatest journalists and filmmakers of any generation has died at age 84, his family announced on Sunday.


John Pilger, whose books, films and articles informed generations of people eager to cut through official narratives and propaganda on the Palestinian question; U.S. wars executed in Vietnam, Iraq and elsewhere; the one it plans for China; the state of public medicine in Britain; the treatment of aborigines in his native Australia and a host of other critical public issues, has died in London at 84.

Pilger, a recipient of numerous awards, including winning British journalist of the year twice, was a member of Consortium News‘ board of directors and in October was awarded with CN‘s Gary Webb Freedom of the Press Award.

Tributes have already begun to pour in.


Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW
@Stella_Assange

Our dear dear John Pilger has left us. He was one of the greats. A consistent ally of the dispossessed, John dedicated his life to telling their stories and awoke the world to the greatest injustices. He showed great empathy for the weak and was unflinching with the powerful. John was one of Julian’s most vocal champions but they also became the closest of friends. He fought for Julian’s freedom until the end.

“We are all Spartacus if we want to be”, he wrote in his last published piece. This was John, challenging us until the end. Let’s always seek to rise to the challenge. Thank you, dear friend.


George Galloway
@georgegalloway

This is extremely sad news and millions around the world will feel they lost somebody special. To his family and to Australia his loss will be felt most keenly of all. A great journalist, a fine man, a tower of strength has fallen. #JohnPilgerRIP