About Martin Bashir
Martin Bashir (born 19 January 1963) is a British journalist, currently with NBC News as a contributor for its Dateline program, and an afternoon anchor for MSNBC, hosting Martin Bashir.[1] He was previously an anchor for ABC's Nightline and is known for his interviews with Diana, Princess of Wales and controversy surrounding his interview and conflicting statements in his reports on singer Michael Jackson.The Martin Bashir Interviews
In 2003, Bashir conducted a series of interviews with pop singer Michael Jackson, as part of a documentary for ITV, which Uri Geller had fixed up as a friend of Michael. Following the broadcast, which was viewed by 14 million in the UK and 38 million in the US, several media personalities[who?] accused Bashir of yellow journalism, claiming that he deliberately doctored the recordings in order to paint Jackson in an unflattering light, as well as emphasizing the allegations of child molestation made against Jackson. In an interview with Louis Theroux, Geller said that he felt betrayed by Bashir, and claimed that the ITV documentary had ruined Geller's own relationship with Michael.The New York Times called Bashir's journalism style "callous self-interest masked as sympathy."
In response, Jackson and his personal cameraman released a rebuttal interview, which showed Bashir complimenting Jackson for the "spiritual" quality of the Neverland Ranch. Bashir also described Jackson as a wonderful father and said that Jackson's relationship with his children "almost makes me weep".
Dieter Wiesner, the pop star's manager from 1996 to 2003, said of Bashir's documentary:
"It broke him. It killed him. He took a long time to die, but it started that night. Previously the drugs were a crutch, but after that they became a necessity."
Bashir later said of Jackson during ABC's coverage of his death,
"When I made the documentary, there was a small part that contained a controversy concerning his relationship with young people. But the truth is that he was never convicted of any crime, and I never saw any wrongdoing myself."
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