Interview with Brian Walski on PDN
Maybe I’ll be happy where I end up in a couple of years, but I’ll never look back on it and say it was a good thing. I hurt my reputation and the LA Times’ reputation, and that’s something I feel really bad about. And the Internet thing, that’s hard to deal with. I did a Google search on my name, and it comes up in about 25 languages. Every photographer wants to be known for a picture he’s taken. I’ll be known for this. It’s not something I’m proud of. The photographers who are covering Iraq—I’ve hurt them in a way. If I could apologize…People should be proud of the work they’ve done over there. I take responsibility for what I did.
I really feel bad for Walski. While what he did was wrong, he really got crucified, especially consider how much of the war coverage was made up anyway. Did anyone get fired for all the stuff invented in the press (try the Memory Hole for some examples)? Did anyone get fired for the completely staged statue toppling?