Marash Boy's Response to yesterday's blog post (below):
"I’m sure that Ben Bagdikian died of a broken heart watching his beloved profession which has been so lacking in this electoral season.
"As you may know from the obit, Ben Bagdikian was born in 1920 in the former Ottoman city of Marash, where my mother and father were born, and where Bethel’s father was born.
"When I was a little boy, the Bagdikians lived on a farm in Belchertown, just outside of Springfield, Massachusetts. Ben Bagdikian’s older sister, who was a nurse working at Springfield Hospital, was a good friend of my mother with whom she probably attended the Marash Girls’ College. I remember very clearly how his sister who, when she was commuting from Belchertown to Springfield, would come by to visit my mother who absolutely adored her. According to the obituary, Ben’s first reporting job was with the Springfield Union. Though I remember the sister’s visits very well, I’m sorry to say that I never got to meet Ben, but he always meant a lot to me, given his roll in the field of journalism.
"Your recent take on the Republican presidential campaign befits the standards that Ben Bagdikian sought for his profession."
Thanks for the note. I have no idea if this would ever have come up before but Ben Bagdikian and my father were pretty good friends, and I remember meeting him quite a few times when I was growing up and in my early years in journalism. I may be wrong about this but I believe my dad met Ben in China during WWII when dad was a Newsweek war correspondent and Ben was in the service. So another common thread in our long-ago past!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I imagine he was pretty disgusted at what journalism has become in today's world. With good reason.