John Sweeney's piece on today's From Our Own Correspondent was ostensibly about the murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia but its focus soon shifted to other murdered journalists - from Viktoria Marinova to Jamal Khashoggi. At its conclusion JS pointed the finger of blame firmly at,...yes, Donald Trump:
In the summer of 2016 I visited the home of one of New York's great reporters, Wayne Barrett, who was dying of cancer. In his pomp, working for the Village Voice in the '80s, Wayne used to report on Donald Trump and his links with the mob - the Gambinos, the Genovese, how 'Fat Tony' Salerno had sold the concrete to Trump for his Tower. "What if Trump gets elected?", I asked. Wayne replied", I'm afraid.I'm very afraid".
My old hero was right. The leader of the Free World has demonised journalists time and again, and now, the world over, the butcher's bill is being paid. If you're a troublemaking reporter it's time to be afraid.
