Nathan
asked
Nicholas D. Kristof:
In Half the Sky and your NYT column, you seem to play dual roles: that of journalist/author and that of activist. Do you try to separate those two in your craft or do you think being active in a cause makes you a better story-teller?
Nicholas D. Kristof
This is a very delicate balance. I obviously believe deeply in certain social justice causes, and they drive my books and my columns. On the other hand, when somebody goes completely over to the activist world, their reporting becomes less dispassionate and more suspect. It becomes easier then to neglect contrary evidence and become an ideologue. So I consider myself primarily a journalist and writer, yet one who tries to use his keyboard to make the world a little bit better place.
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Marzie
asked
Nicholas D. Kristof:
It's been very disheartening in recent times that people associated with noble cause organizations, like Greg Mortensen and Somaly Mam (and I realize there's a huge difference there in how funds raised were actually used) have turned out to be not quite who they seemed. What would you like to tell readers and donors about continuing to trust organizations to do the right thing and trying to aid change?
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