Gerri Peev
Encyclopedia
Gerri Peev is a Bulgaria
n-born, New Zealand-raised British
journalist
. Peev is notable for authoring a 7 March 2008 interview in The Scotsman with Samantha Power
, a foreign policy advisor to U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama
. During an interview, Power said of Obama's Democratic primary opponent Hillary Clinton: "She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything." Peev included the remark in her article in The Scotsman, despite Power's post facto declaration that it was off the record. Power resigned after the article was published.
The incident opened a debate about journalistic ethics. Peev told MSNBC
"I don't know what the convention is in American journalism, but in Britain here we have very firm rules about the fact that generally, you establish whether a conversation or interview is on or off the record before it actually happens. She made some off-the-cuff remarks which were on the record. She even waited for the tape to start recording and then I think once she noticed that they were quite controversial she tried to withdraw just that very remark about Hillary allegedly being a monster." The LA Times said Peev followed "standard journalistic practice"
However some American
journalists criticized Peev. Noam Scheiber from The New Republic
said: "I have never not let a source take something off the record if they asked immediately after making their comment."
Peev later appeared on MSNBC's Tucker. The host, Tucker Carlson
, asked Peev why she didn't agree to Power's request to strike the unguarded remark off the record. Peev replied: "Are you really that acquiescent in the United States? In the United Kingdom journalists believe that on or off the record is a principle that's decided ahead of the interview." Peev then stated that, "If she makes a comment and decides that it's too controversial and wants to withdraw it immediately after, unfortunately if the interview is on the record, it has to go ahead."
In an unrelated problem, Nassim Taleb
claims that in an article written on August 20, 2009, Peev reversed his position on global warming by portraying him as an anti-ecologist.
Peev won Scoop of the Year at the 2009 Scottish Press Awards. She joined the Daily Mail as a political correspondent in 2010.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n-born, New Zealand-raised British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. Peev is notable for authoring a 7 March 2008 interview in The Scotsman with Samantha Power
Samantha Power
Samantha Power is an Irish American academic, governmental official and writer. She is currently a Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and runs the Office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights as Senior Director of Multilateral Affairs on the Staff of the National Security Council...
, a foreign policy advisor to U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. During an interview, Power said of Obama's Democratic primary opponent Hillary Clinton: "She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything." Peev included the remark in her article in The Scotsman, despite Power's post facto declaration that it was off the record. Power resigned after the article was published.
The incident opened a debate about journalistic ethics. Peev told MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
"I don't know what the convention is in American journalism, but in Britain here we have very firm rules about the fact that generally, you establish whether a conversation or interview is on or off the record before it actually happens. She made some off-the-cuff remarks which were on the record. She even waited for the tape to start recording and then I think once she noticed that they were quite controversial she tried to withdraw just that very remark about Hillary allegedly being a monster." The LA Times said Peev followed "standard journalistic practice"
However some American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalists criticized Peev. Noam Scheiber from The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
said: "I have never not let a source take something off the record if they asked immediately after making their comment."
Peev later appeared on MSNBC's Tucker. The host, Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson is an American political news correspondent and conservative commentator for the Fox News Channel...
, asked Peev why she didn't agree to Power's request to strike the unguarded remark off the record. Peev replied: "Are you really that acquiescent in the United States? In the United Kingdom journalists believe that on or off the record is a principle that's decided ahead of the interview." Peev then stated that, "If she makes a comment and decides that it's too controversial and wants to withdraw it immediately after, unfortunately if the interview is on the record, it has to go ahead."
In an unrelated problem, Nassim Taleb
Nassim Taleb
Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a Lebanese American essayist whose work focuses on problems of randomness and probability. His 2007 book The Black Swan was described in a review by Sunday Times as one of the twelve most influential books since World War II....
claims that in an article written on August 20, 2009, Peev reversed his position on global warming by portraying him as an anti-ecologist.
Peev won Scoop of the Year at the 2009 Scottish Press Awards. She joined the Daily Mail as a political correspondent in 2010.
External links
- Scotsman Reporter Speaks Out on Power Interview, Mark Halperin, Time: The Page, March 7, 2008
- "Not in the public interest", 2008-03-07, criticism of Peev's article from The Economist's blog http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2008/03/great_moments_in_journalism.cfm