GEORGE ESPER - All American
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A Documentary Film About the Nature of and the Need for Trustworthy Journalism as Practiced by One of America's Most Revered Reporters
About George
1. Preface / 2. Video Clips / 3. Obituary
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Preface
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In 2016 America turned down a dark alley. What at first seemed preposterous, within four years had become dangerously threatening. The public sphere was being defaced and delegitimized; public officials were harassed and threatened before and after the 2020 election; and, on January 6, 2021 the U.S. Capital was savaged by gangs who called themselves patriots.
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The damage done to America's public sphere needs to be repaired and forever after protected. Public deliberations need to be candid and fair, and require a cogent and reliable understanding of facts; productive dialog requires respect for the legitimacy of contrasting points of view; and, above all else, a serious regard for the public's interest must be foundational.
Journalists are de facto stewards of the public sphere, and as such, they are indispensable to the successful restoration of the conditions necessary for free, honest, and robust public discourse; finally, journalists must universally recognize their obligation to remain forever vigilant in order to protect and defend the public sphere.
2. Video Clips
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The Job of the Journalist (00:50)
GEORGE ESPER's forty-two year career as a Special Correspondent for the Associated Press--covering wars and natural disasters as well as writing intimate personal profiles--exemplifies the fundamental qualities a dedicated journalist must possess. George's sense of duty to serve the public with the best, most reliable and honest reporting that he could possibly provide was central to who he was and how he did his job.
This documentary is not only about the qualities and practices of good journalists like George, but also about the public's need for reliable journalists like George. He understood the crucial role of the journalist in a vibrant democracy; he was never satisfied with the superficial, but kept probing for deeper insights and a fuller understanding of the most essential issues and the most salient facts; but, most importantly, he did is best to be worthy of the public's trust.
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(NOTE: There are jump-cuts within these interview clips that will be covered with appropriately relevant images in the finished film.)
On Being an Immigrant in Coal Country (01:49)
This documentary is also, in part, about the immigrant experience in America. George's parents came to this country from Beirut, Lebanon and settled in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. They opened a grocery store and a beer bar across the street from the railroad yards and coke furnaces. The family lived in the flat above the store.
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George remembers that he felt like a permanent outsider throughout his youth, suspecting that he would always be seen as an outsider--a foreigner--in America. What pained him most was seeing his father mistreated and insulted by some of the men who drank in the bar after work.
The Kindness of a Football Coach (02:02)
George wanted badly to find a place where he genuinely could feel that he belonged; but, nothing changed for him until he left for college and unexpectedly became the student manager of the West Virginia University football team.
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Besides bringing buckets of water onto the field to refresh the team, George also made sure he was well schooled in the strategies and game plans. He tutored many members of the team before exams; and, eventually began writing publicity profiles of the players for publication in their hometown newspapers. It all came easily to him and he embraced the work.
On Being a Working Journalist (03:47)
After WVU, George's first job was at the Uniontown Herald-Standard, his hometown paper; after a few years he joined the Pittsburgh Press, mostly covering the Pirates and the Steelers; next he was hired by The Associated Press as an overnight editor in the Philadelphia office; and, after a few more years, he was transferred to the AP's home office in New York, having earned a reputation as a tenacious newsman. After only six months in New York, a senior executive asked George to join the AP staff in Saigon. He immediately said yes and in less then two weeks he was on a plane to South Vietnam.
VIETNAM: Body Bags (02:24)
Unlike the rest of the AP staff in Saigon, George was not a seasoned war correspondent. It was new to him and his first assignment was covering the U.S. Marines based in Da Nang--about 450 miles north of Saigon--reporting on their battles with the North Vietnamese Army along the demilitarized boarder (DMZ) between North and South Vietnam.
VIETNAM: The Five O'clock Follies (01:08)
The "Five O'clock Follies" was the nickname for the daily military briefings in Saigon every afternoon at 5 o'clock. While not necessarily untrue, the information the military shared with the press was selective, regularly leaving out relevant facts that would likely shed a different light on the news they were presenting.
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Frequently the reporters knew as much or more than the briefers themselves, leading to clashes--sometimes heated--between the press and the officer at the podium about the veracity of the information the military was offering. George had developed a reputation for being outspoken when he attended the follies.
VIETNAM: Off-the-Record (01:36)
As the war dragged on, the briefings did not change much, but the people did--members of the press and the military briefers came to understand both the war and each other more deeply and in more subtle ways. They began to see where there might be room for common purpose and they learned ways to identify and share essential information.
VIETNAM: Reflections on the War (04:20)
George had a difficult time after the war. He was depressed, angry, and confused; the abrupt move to America was difficult on his family, especially while they were held at Camp Pendleton. He found he couldn't attend to his work as he once did and was worried the AP might let him go, putting even more pressure on his marriage which was beginning to come undone.
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His friends in the AP rallied around him and gave him the support he needed, especially the editors he had worked with in New York. The AP also had nominated him for a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the fall of Saigon, and with the encouragement of others, he eventually began writing feature stories about life in America. His breakthrough piece was a profile of one of the last remaining sign painters who painted large advertisements for tobacco and shaving products on the sides of barns throughout rural America.
Kent State 20 Years Later (02:29)
As one of AP's select group of Special Correspondents, George often had his pick of assignments. He continued to cover military conflicts--the First Gulf War; Bosnia; Kosovo; Somalia--but he also attended to stories about the after-effects of the Vietnam War. He reported on the difficulties many veterans had dealing with PTSD, depression, and alcohol and drug addictions. He wrote about the intensely positive impact the Vietnam Veterans Memorial had for veterans and their families; and, he continued to to follow the story of the search for the remains of unaccounted for U.S. airmen and soldiers--POWs and MIAs.
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But in 1990 when the twentieth anniversary of the Kent State killings approached, George felt compelled to revisit the Vietnam era and go to the campus to write a reflection piece about that day--May 4, 1970--when 28 Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on unarmed college students--killing 4 and wounding 9--during a demonstration against the war. George also felt compelled to pay a visit to each of the four families whose children had been shot dead by the National Guard. For George, the Kent State killings were a significant part of the tragedy of the the Vietnam War.
Return to West Virginia (02:35)
Upon his retirement from The Associated Press in 2,000, George was offered a professorship at West Virginia University--his alma mater--in the School of Journalism. He was more than happy to return to West Virginia and WVU, but more significantly, he found teaching and mentoring aspiring young journalists to be a joy.
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He spent 8 years inspiring his students to be honest and truthful in their reporting; to probe deeply into each story; and most importantly, to respect the readers and be worthy of their trust.
George Esper, age 79, died peacefully at his home on Feb 3, 2012. His remains were brought to Uniontown and interred at Sylvan Heights Cemetery near other members of his family.
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3. Obituary
The Associated Press published an obituary for George written by Richard Pyle,
a good friend, a fellow staff member, and a onetime Saigon Bureau Chief.
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Some excerpts:
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George Esper, the tenacious Associated Press correspondent who refused to leave his post in the last days of the Vietnam War has died. He and two other AP reporters declined to join the frantic evacuation of foreigners from Saigon as the North Vietnamese Army drove toward the city.
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"While he was most famous for his journalistic chops, his courage and tenacity--particularly in Vietnam--those of us lucky enough to know him will celebrate his enormous generosity and boundless good cheer," said Kathleen Carroll, AP's executive editor and senior vice president. "He was a gentleman journalist and we will miss him sorely."
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The U.S. Military Command in Saigon regarded Esper with wariness, respect and even affection. He was relentless, pounding them with questions: "Why don't you know? You should know this, and I know you know it."
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