Viveca Novak has to be fired! We tend to be a bit more sympathetic toward Viveca because she "seems" to be on our side, she hangs with a liberal lawyer, she's on top of the Plamegate case, she was giving Luskin grief for spinning her, but none the less, her relationship and insertion into a criminal investigation, in which she has had an obstructive part, deserves more than a voluntary leave of absence.
Viveca's crimes against journalism are not on the same scale as Judy Miller's, and her fall from grace was not as far as Woodward's, however we can demand nothing less than her job, because our principles and tenets, and marriage with truth and ethics, demands nothing less. We are at a cross roads, where we are presented with a journalist who pursues truth, and is not biased to the right, however, her mistakes went against not only her industry's published ethics, but also broke trust with her audience. Once the trust is broken, it can't be brushed over with a leave of absence, it must be rebuilt, just like her career. To begin the rebuilding, unfortunately Viveca Novak needs a fresh start.
It is with a heavy heart that we should demand her removal from the staff of Time, but due to our commitments to truth, ethics, and public good, we must hold Viveca to the same standards that we held Judy Miller. And although her betrayal was not as great as Millers, it still is a betrayal of the public, and as such it should not go un noted. I wish her success in her career, but her career needs to be reborn.
Even if you don't agree with me, please let Time know how you feel about Viveca's role in the Plame imbroglio. E-mail them at: letters@time.com
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