John Walcott: A Story of Finding Ground Truth

While most news organizations failed to expose the truth behind the rationale for the Iraq War, John Walcott and his team of Knight Ridder journalists tried to make sure they were on the right side of the story.

Walcott is a soft-spoken man who talks methodically, almost as if he’s making sure he leaves nothing unsaid, searching through his experience and knowledge. He has dedicated his life to finding the truth and it is apparent in all aspects of who he is.

John Walcott, an award-winning journalist and editor, relaxes in the George Washington Elliott School of International Affairs between meetings. He has devoted his life to trying to bring truth and accountability to those in power and continues today to try and pass that message along to his students at Georgetown University. (Photo by Tommy Furlong)

Jonathan Landay, a former colleague of Walcott at Knight Ridder said, “He’s probably one of the most ethical people I have ever known and I’m not talking just about work, it’s about fairness, it’s about treating people properly and well.”

Warren Strobel, who also worked with Walcott at Knight Ridder, echoed the same message: “John is one of the most decent human beings I know. He has a strong sense of fairness and justice.”

With Walcott as editor, Landay and Strobel as journalists and a third reporter award-winning military writer Joe Galloway – the team countered the mainstream media narrative and accused former President George W. Bush and his administration of pushing their way into Iraq with lies.

From a young age, Walcott developed a sense of “ground truth,” a concept he learned from his father who served in the Eighth Air Force during World War II. His father was an expert in navigation, and by using the ground truth – meaning his starting position – he could always know where he was.

Flash forward six decades, when the Bush administration began to draw connections between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, Walcott intuitively knew to question where the connection started – and it made no sense.

The reporting that followed was gutsy, and simply put, hard. But Walcott’s expertise and demeanor made him the perfect leader for what Galloway described as “the Knight Ridder bad boys.”

All of their work can be seen in the movie “Shock and Awe,” directed by Rob Reiner, who also plays Walcott.

The pressure they felt is clear in the movie, and the viewer can see Walcott stood as leader who could calm tensions around him. What isn’t seen, but is true to Walcott, is his humor. Through little things like his impressions of Vice President Dick Cheney he could ease a room, while also able to reassure the team with an incredible depth of knowledge and network of sources.

Before joining Knight Ridder, Walcott covered everything from local news, to environment and energy, to economics, politics, civil wars and the fall of the Soviet Union. He made stops at Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and U.S News and World Report, to name a few. His wealth of experience taught him where to track a story – at the ground level. So, he and his reporters went after mid-level sources. He coached his team not to be pulled into what higher officials were saying because, he said, “I’ve never cared much about rank – maybe I just don’t respect it. You respect individuals not their rank, and that’s been a hallmark.”

And they were successful.

For years Knight Ridder had the story right while the rest of the industry fed into the narrative the government wanted the people to believe. And without Walcott, Strobel said, “I really believe we could not have done our historic journalism. … He gave us both the encouragement and also the top cover in the sense he was always willing to protect us.”

The success all comes back to who he is as person.

When the planes hit the twin towers on 9/11, most people reacted with panic. Even though it was one of the biggest news days ever, Walcott told his newsroom, if you need to be home with your family, go.

He’s a family-first person who leads with empathy and exudes humility. Even today, after collecting a handful of awards and adding Bloomberg, Reuters and consultant to Time magazine to his resume he said, “I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a successful journalist.”

Well maybe he can hang his hat on being a great teacher then.

For the last 21 years he has taught at Georgetown University and Anthony Arend, professor at Georgetown and former director of the master of science in foreign service program, said, “he is a fantastic teacher who is able to bring experience into the classroom and really force students to understand and think about global politics.”

Even outside of the classroom Arend raves about Walcott’s intelligence and character. “Anytime you sit down with him,” he said, “you can have a fascinating conversation.”