Blogs Jun 18, 2013 at 6:12 pm

War Reporter Michael Hastings, Dead at 33

Ansel Herz
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Comments

1
Lara Logan is more of a reporter than you'll ever be, Ansel. EVER.
Tyler Pierce on June 18, 2013 at 6:26 PM Report this
2
Terrible news. Huge loss for the world of serious journalism.
Kissel on June 18, 2013 at 6:29 PM Report this
3
So sad. What a loss.
Dominic Holden on June 18, 2013 at 6:34 PM Report this
4
Well shit.

He was one of a rare breed, indeed....
merry on June 18, 2013 at 6:38 PM Report this
5
A terrible loss, and a brilliant if curtailed life.

Still, it's wrong to report that he "died". From LA Times version of the story:
Hastings was the victim of a single-car crash that occurred about 4:25 a.m. in the 600 block of North Highland Avenue
....
The vehicle crossed a median, struck a tree and burst into flames in the Hancock Park area, LAPD Officer Christopher No said. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
....
A witness described the accident to KTLA News: “I was just coming northbound on Highland and I seen a car, like, going really fast and all of a sudden I seen it jackknife,” Luis Cortez said. “I just seen parts fly everywhere, and I slammed on my brakes and stopped and tried to call 911."
That's not the end of a struggle with cancer. Unless he had a really freaky mechanical failure, that's someone driving in a manner likely to kill someone, and fortunately killing only themselves.
Warren Terra on June 18, 2013 at 6:43 PM Report this
6
Like Paul Wellstone's jet...
DOUG. on June 18, 2013 at 7:00 PM Report this
7
@1: WTfuck does that have to do Matt Hastings?

And, yes, sad. We need a lot more like him in newsrooms.
gnossos on June 18, 2013 at 7:01 PM Report this
8
when will we ban cars?
on June 18, 2013 at 7:09 PM Report this
9
Hastings deserves every bit of your glowing praise Ansel. What you don't realize is that if you change a few of the situations, and substitute Hasting's name with Paul Constant, you have courageous reportage valor right here in Seattle. Lucky we are to have bravery incarnate living and breathing with us. Cherish these days of revolutionary courage blessed upon Slog.
dnt trust me on June 18, 2013 at 7:31 PM Report this
10
Rest in peace seeker of truth.

Funny how those who speak ill of the regime tend to die.
Cascadian Bacon on June 18, 2013 at 7:34 PM Report this
11
A good, and brave journalist paradoxically (nowadays) still looking to journalistic traditions of the Fourth Estate.

RIP.
Just Jeff on June 18, 2013 at 7:52 PM Report this
12
Bold and effective speaker-of-truth, thorn in the side of U.S. Military, collides his vehicle with a tree in such a manner that the vehicle bursts into flames, leaving the body burned beyond recognition. Nothing to see here, folks.
Phil M on June 18, 2013 at 8:09 PM Report this
15
Michael Hastings, May 20, 2013: Journalists "should withdraw all our cooperation and publish everything we know." "We should publish everything we know, because it's a free press... we've been way too easy with these guys." " http://current.com/shows/the-young-turks…
Phil M on June 18, 2013 at 8:44 PM Report this
16
Wow people here think it was a conspiracy? The left has loonies too I guess.
Seattle14 on June 18, 2013 at 9:44 PM Report this
17
Hey Dom et. al, - I know I'm just some douchebag occaccional commenter on the Slog. But this is a real loss. I mentioned before the Forth Estate. The reality is that some of you guys at The Stranger (history The Rocket and other zines) may have forgotten: Being controversial isn't the same as being relevant.

This man - who died before most of us think of us being a useful lifespan - put his ASS on the line daily. He did so in challenge to what could have been insurmountable obstacles still available to the free press.

Respect him.
Just Jeff on June 18, 2013 at 10:06 PM Report this
18
@5, he died in a car crash. How is it "wrong to report that he 'died?'" That makes absolutely no sense.

If you think Ansel was insufficiently judgmental about the way Hastings was driving, okay, that's also ridiculous, but it makes more sense than saying it's "wrong to report that he 'died.'"
LJM on June 18, 2013 at 10:43 PM Report this
19
Hastings kicks all kinds of ass here, starting at 1:56.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3eKaXVe-…

We can only hope he's inspired other young journalists out there to value the truth over access to power.

http://www.salon.com/2010/06/28/journali…

These two segments should be put into a museum, or a journalism class, to illustrate what journalism is supposed to be (Hastings’ views) and what it has actually degenerated into (Logan’s).
LJM on June 18, 2013 at 10:49 PM Report this
20
@16: Who said anything about a conspiracy? Do you know what that word means?
Phil M on June 18, 2013 at 11:10 PM Report this
21
A conspiracy is an agreement between multiple people to commit a crime, such as murder. You're confirming that you were not suggesting Michael Hastings was murdered @12, Phil? And, not that you should be required to vouch for anyone else, that Cascadian Bacon wasn't doing the same thing @10?
Christampa on June 18, 2013 at 11:31 PM Report this
22
Embedded sluts like Lara Logan - who spit back the Iraq war script as fed to them by the Bush administration - are the reason I never again watched CBS news - or CNN, NBC, or any other TV news. Shame on all of these "journalistic" sock puppets!

Michael Hastings was a breath of fresh air ...one who dared to challenge the powerful forces of the Bush-Cheney war machine ...one who had the courage to to stand up to the bullshit they spewed to justify the criminal war in Iraq.

May he rest in peace!
blackhook on June 19, 2013 at 1:24 AM Report this
23
Michael Hastings, the Buzzfeed writer who appeared to have died in a fiery Hollywood crash early today, had reported extensively on the CIA and was rumored to be continuing work on that beat at the time of his demise.

That Hastings had the Central Intelligence Agency in his sights is no surprise to those who knew his work. In March he gave what could now be seen as an eerie interview to Current TV about his recent Rolling Stone coverage of a CIA operative, Andrew Warren, who grew to believe he was being followed:

He started drinking heavily. He started abusing these drugs, Xanax and Valium, he started hearing voices. He believed he was being followed. He might have actually been being followed. Maybe, probably not, you don't know. It gets into this very strange ...


"Well, he's CIA, he might have been followed," says host Cenk Uygur.


http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/…

The Los Angeles county coroner's office had yet to determine Tuesday night whether a body recovered from a fiery car crash was that of award-winning journalist Michael Hastings.

The body was badly charred and identified only as "John Doe 117," law enforcement authorities told The Times.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me…
Phil M on June 19, 2013 at 2:55 AM Report this
24
@6, @12 are right to think this is fishy.

If you refuse to believe that this might have been something other than a car crash you live in a fantasy world.
HelpMeJebus on June 19, 2013 at 6:17 AM Report this
25
Not a conspiracy, people. Just an "accident." Move along now.
mizmojo on June 19, 2013 at 6:41 AM Report this
26
13

do you know how many more children are slaughtered by automobiles than guns every year?

but the deaths of children that do not advance your twisted political agenda don't matter, do they, you bloated piece of shit...
on June 19, 2013 at 7:07 AM Report this
27
Embedded below is an interesting segment from a local LA television news broadcast featuring interviews with residents near the crash site. One woman says, “It sounded like a bomb went off. My house shook. The windows rattled.” Another neighbor, a Hollywood producer, points to parts of the engine, observing that they are 50 to 60 yards from the crash site. “I couldn’t have written a scene like this for a movie, where the engine flies from the car”, he says.


http://ohtarzie.wordpress.com/2013/06/19…
Phil M on June 19, 2013 at 8:38 AM Report this
30
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/06…
Phil M on June 19, 2013 at 8:50 AM Report this
31
I requested his FBI files: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-stat…
Phil M on June 19, 2013 at 9:09 AM Report this
32
@29: Reptiles? Has the tinfoil gotten to your brain? People driving precision German automobiles on residential roads jack-knife them, run into trees, and burn beyond recognition when the gasoline in the car explodes, sending a rain of parts 100 yards in diameter, all the time. Why do you think we keep gasoline in cans and trees in the woods? Quit stirring up shit.
Phil M on June 19, 2013 at 9:18 AM Report this
33
@32

It has also been scientifically proven that people who happened to be near newsworthy events will never, ever exaggerate their experiences when relating them to television news crews.
robotslave on June 20, 2013 at 2:57 AM Report this

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