Counterbias: Living, Breathing Gonzo Journalism

Living, Breathing Gonzo Journalism
An interview with Anthony Lappe, author of the new Plume paperback, True Lies

October 4 2004
Counterbias.com
by Robert J. Nebel

In these uncertain times when dissent is quashed at every turn, there are the few who are daring enough to stand up to it all. Whistleblowers including political aficionado Richard Clarke to Ambassador Joseph Wilson have risked their livelihood to deliver the truth to the people. Filmmaker and author Michael Moore, who has now catapulted himself to household name status with Fahrenheit 9/11, continues to put himself out on the line every day to counter Karl Rove’s spin machine.

These heroes are doing the work that the corporate mainstream media ought to do. They are telling the story. Let’s face it: most of today’s journalists answer to their owners and shareholders who are beholden to the FCC and the almighty dollar respectively. Indeed, the Internet and public television are here to inform those who are looking for the stories the mainstream media miss. But, with behemoths like FOX News and Clear Channel in cahoots with The White House’s communications team, it is difficult to get the alternative message out. How does one compete with the Elephant Machine? Progressive talk radio Air America is off to an excellent start. Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Janeane Garafalo are the perfect foils to the blowhards on the Right including Limbaugh, Hannity and Coulter. Books like Franken’s Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them and Michael Moore’s Dude, Where’s My Country? have been flooding the market.

So why is George W. Bush still so popular? Is Sean Hannity’s latest book that good? Does Bill O’Reilly have that much influence over the electorate? The Left still has a lot of work to do.

Writer and television producer Anthony Lappe is entering the fray with his new book True Lies from Plume paperbacks. This 33-year-old renegade journalist, along with his partner Stephen Marshall, 36, have put together a riveting read that covers a wide range of issues including depleted uranium in Iraq to the fall of congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

“We covered topics that were big in the alternative media,” Lappe says. “These are huge stories that are ignored in the mainstream media.” Lappe and Marshall labored over massive research and conducted scores of interviews to create chapters like “Black Box Democracy.”

“We took an objective look at topics like electronic voting machines and how their security can be compromised,” says Lappe. “While an election can be rigged, it is ultimately dangerous to those who are fighting around the world."

The story of Representative Cynthia McKinney’s ousting in 2002 receives a detailed treatment in a chapter simply titled, “Cynthia‘s War: The Rise and Fall of a Maverick Congresswoman.” For the book, Lappe traveled Atlanta to interview McKinney and those who brought her down. “I found Cynthia to be bright and funny,” Lappe recalls. “Unfortunately, she made many missteps like accepting money from the Saudis while criticizing Bush for his relationship.” He also found that McKinney’s early questioning of the events of September 11th was ultimately vindicated with the 9-11 hearings.

Lappe and his crew hopped up the road to the suburban town of Duluth to speak with Mike Davis, who runs a printing company with scores of Republican clients. During the visit, Lappe learned that Davis used sophisticated software to mobilize the Republican crossover vote to defeat McKinney. “In Georgia, anyone can vote in whatever primary they choose,“ he says. “Davis got out the vote and helped defeat McKinney.” The local news coverage of that primary race piqued Lappe’s interest. “I thought it was interesting that Davis’ anti-McKinney site contained the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s negative coverage of her. People told me that this is supposed a liberal paper.” In the book, Lappe asks if the negative coverage was intentional or was it a case of editors and writers acting fearful in a rather conservative climate.

When it comes to the corporate media, Lappe is thankful he is not part of it. He enjoys the freedom and creativity that the Guerrilla News Network allows him. Articles such as, “War Crimes, then and now,” give Lappe journalistic license to delve deeper into subjects that most editors at major daily newspapers would never offer. “Upon my work on True Lies, I discovered that most reporters are lucky to have two to three days to an investigation,” he says. “There are the few reporters in places like UPI that have more time.”

Not only does Lappe have time for writing, he has also been involved in producing extraordinary films. His latest, Battleground: Dispatch from the Edge of an Empire goes into Iraq to tell the real story. Battleground, a beautifully shot and edited production, follows the story of Frank, an exile who returns to Iraq to see his family. Emotionally gut-wrenching and informative, the movie leaves its viewers spellbound. For the film Lappe and Marshall traveled to Amman, Jordan and entered Iraq. “There is absolutely no protection there, no law and order” Lappe recalls. “Someone on the street can come up to you and shoot you and walk away.” Since he is a married man, Lappe says that he wore a flak jacket throughout his time in Iraq. Marshall, who Lappe describes as a bit more “spiritual,” did not.

Lappe is critical in his assessment of the situation in Iraq. “The policy there is a failure from the top on down,” he says. “I find it incredible that Bush addressed the UN with his attitude when he is violating international law.”

A graduate of Columbia and NYU, Lappe lives and breathes Gonzo journalism. “I love Hunter S. Thompson,” Lappe admits. “I started reading him in ninth grade.” That was when Lappe was living in Oakland. He went on to intern with the ACLU with hopes of becoming a groundbreaking lawyer, but he later found his calling in freelance writing at Columbia. Lappe has been published in over twenty magazines and newspapers including Details and The New York Times.

With a cutting-edge Web site, producing films and living in Manhattan, how does Lappe pay the bills? “We are a unique hybrid that is funded through grants,” he says. It is without a doubt, Anthony Lappe and Stephen Marshall are going places. Battleground is a part of the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival. It is also being widely distributed on DVD.

For now, Lappe and Marshall are doing the rounds promoting True Lies and are working on a documentary based on the book. “Everything in the book was also filmed,” Lappe says. If the book is any indication, the documentary version of True Lies will be equally as informative and entertaining. So, can Lappe and Marshall defeat blind patriotism and conservatism? Only time will tell.

Robert J. Nebel is a writer whose works have appeared on Alternet.org, USA Today, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution and many other Web sites, newspapers and magazines. His Web site is http://bobnebel.tripod.com.