The unchecked bias of London’s theatre

Just opened in London, Speculations On the Unexplained Deaths of Several American Icons is a new play by Torben Betts that explores the investigative journalism of Dorothy Kilgallen, suggesting that Kilgallen’s own death was a state-sponsored assassination. The play is a mediocre drama, as outlined here.

Of interest however is the short commentary given by Betts in the program notes that accompany the production. He writes as follows:

“Dorothy’s story doesn’t seem remotely antiquated to me. Journalists are still killed, imprisoned, driven into exile or economically destroyed because they get too close to things powerful people would prefer to remain hidden. You think of Anna Polikorskay in Russia, Jamal Khashoggi, Marie Colvin, or the many Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli forces in Gaza….”

And in one casual sentence, free of analysis or critical thought, Torben Betts displays a profound bias. If Betts had conducted even minimal research into the reported deaths of Gazan journalists, he would have learned that at least 170 such individuals had concealed a fundamental truth about themselves: that of their own roles within miltary wings of terrorist organizations. Journalists are expected to report the unbiased truth, these individuals had presented themselves as legitimate media professionals while serving terrorist organizations that regularly use propaganda and psychological warfare.

The same expectation can be applied to playwrights.