EDITORIAL: Exposing "The Ugly Face" (04/02/95)

EDITORIAL

Exposing "The Ugly Face"

On Monday, April 3, The New York Times and The Washington Post are scheduled to publish advertisements headlined: "Hate-mongering by CBS? The truth vs. '60 Minutes.' " These paid ads are part of the continuing reaction to the biased and racist report on independent Ukraine aired by CBS's highly rated TV newsmagazine.

Called "The Ugly Face of Freedom," the segment painted a frightening picture of present-day Ukraine: a fledgling state where anti-Semitism appears to be rampant, where Jews live in fear or are forced to flee for their lives. The report portrayed a nation composed of "uneducated peasants, deeply superstitious," with its finger on the nuclear button, a nation that, it is cleverly suggested though not stated outright, is "genetically anti-Semitic."

It is these distorted depictions that the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee, reactivated under the aegis of the Ukrainian National Association by concerned individuals and organizations, is protesting in the strongest terms. Having tried unsuccessfully, along with other concerned Ukrainian organizations, to obtain a retraction and an apology from CBS, the UHDC is taking its case to the American public via two influential and widely read newspapers. Coincidentally, both newspapers recently published stories focusing on the revival of Jewish life in Ukraine: The Times on January 6 and The Post on March 28. These stories showed the true face of freedom in Ukraine - so unlike the jaundiced view presented by CBS. (The UHDC hopes, if there are sufficient funds, to place its ad also in other major newspapers, including the Jewish American press.)

The Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee's advertisement, which is supported with large contributions from the UNA, Ukrainian veterans and Ukrainian credit unions, notes that though Ukrainian community groups had presented CBS with detailed evidence regarding the "60 Minutes" report's distortions, the network refused to air a retraction. Though the chief rabbi of Ukraine, Yaakov Dov Bleich, wrote to CBS and met personally with CBS officials in New York to protest the fact that his remarks were taken totally out of context, the network refused to issue an apology.

And, it should be noted, that although Ukrainian Americans picketed CBS offices in New York, Philadelphia, Washington and other cities, and though various groups of community activists met with CBS representatives in several cities, still "60 Minutes" stood by its story.

The network's arrogant stonewalling of community concerns, its complete disregard for truth and its irresponsible attitude - indeed, its contempt for the journalistic principles of fair reporting - only added fuel to the fire. Ukrainian community members have vowed to press their case. This they are doing by pursuing various avenues: lawsuits and official complaints filed with the FCC, contacts with corporate sponsors of the "60 Minutes" show, pressure on local affiliates of CBS.

Most recently, the Ukrainian American Justice Committee published a booklet called "Scourging of a Nation: CBS and the Defamation of Ukraine" and honored Rabbi David Lincoln for his outspoken defense of Ukraine. In addition the Chicago-based group announced that its first annual Walter Duranty Award for Journalistic Dissimulation would be presented to Morley Safer, who reported the infamous "Ugly Face" story. The Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee prepared an information packet that sets the record straight on the allegations broadcast by CBS and contains pertinent and informed reaction from Ukrainian and Jewish leaders in the United States and Ukraine. And, Ukrainian stockholders are being urged to attend a CBS stockholders' meeting in May in order to raise "The Ugly Face" issue at that forum.

All of this, of course, is aimed at ultimately ameliorating the damage done by CBS to the reputation of Ukraine and Ukrainians, and at exposing the low standards of journalism prevalent at the new CBS.

In conjunction with the April 3 appearance of its paid advertisements in The New York Times and The Washington Post, the UHDC is also mailing out a press kit to major news media in an effort to tell the truth that should have been told about Ukraine, as well as to familiarize the media with reactions to the CBS report. The packet and the ad explain why Ukrainians continue to demand a retraction and an apology: "The beautiful face of freedom in Ukraine deserves no less."

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