German Journalist Who Blew Whistle on CIA Media Control Drops Dead at 56

Udo Ulfkotte, a German journalist and former editor of Germany’s prestigious newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung who spoke out in recent years about the control of his profession by the CIA and U.S. government, has died of a heart attack. He was 56.
In November 2014 he said the following in an interview with Oriental Review:
I didn’t get money – I got gifts. Things like gold watches, diving equipment, and trips with accommodations in five-star hotels. I know many German journalists who at some point were able to take advantage of this to buy themselves a vacation home abroad. But much more important than the money and gifts is the fact that you’re offered support if you write pieces that are pro-American or pro-NATO. If you don’t do it, your career won’t go anywhere – you’ll find yourself assigned to sit in the office and sort through letters to the editor.
When you fly to the U.S. again and again and never have to pay for anything there, and you’re invited to interview American politicians, you’re moving closer and closer to the circles of power. And you want to remain within this circle of the elite, so you write to please them. Everyone wants to be a celebrity journalist who gets exclusive access to famous politicians. But one wrong sentence and your career as a celebrity journalist is over. Everyone knows it. And everyone’s in on it.

This post was published at Russia Insider