Columnist Praised In Sean Penn's 'NY Times' Ad

By: Dave Astor A full-page ad that Sean Penn placed in the May 30 New York Times included criticism of the Bush administration, the Iraq war, and the media -- as well as praise for syndicated columnist Norman Solomon.

The actor/director wrote: "In early December 2002, I was invited by Norman Solomon of the Institute for Public Accuracy to join him on his journalistic tour of Baghdad. I met with Norman and did some due diligence on the IPA. Norman is a soft-spoken gentleman, and a relentless author of books, essays, and articles exposing media truth and fiction ... ."

Solomon, whose media column is distributed by Creators Syndicate, told E&P Online he was impressed with Penn's ad. "I think it was a nuanced statement so different than sound bites can be. It was 180 degrees from the cartoonish caricature a lot of Murdoch-paid pundits have painted of Sean Penn and other well-known people who have spoken out against the war mentality."

The potential impact of the piece? "Changes in public policy happen in the aggregate rather than with one silver bullet," replied Solomon, who knew Penn was working on the statement.

Penn's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, told E&P Online the ad elicited "both positive and negative reaction, as expected," but did not give numbers. A New York Times Co. spokesman said the paper received no letters about the ad as of June 2.

A May 30 E&P Online story about Penn's ad did elicit about 40 letters -- both pro and con.

The Times Co. spokesman declined to say what Penn spent for his May 30 message. But a look at company's Web site indicates a weekday ad of the size and kind Penn purchased may have cost nearly $140,000.

Solomon said "I really don't care for celebrity culture" but found Penn -- when with him in Iraq -- to be a "very thoughtful person," a father concerned about the effect of war on children, and a "private" man despite being in the movie profession.

The trip, and his association with Penn, brought an avalanche of publicity on Solomon when he returned to the U.S. "It was impossible to unpack for a couple of weeks," he recalled. "The amount of media calls was huge. I received a whole raft of invitations from Fox News and others to go on and be denounced. They were clearly gunning for me."

The columnist decided to make the appearances anyway, and felt he succeeded in making some points usually "ignored in the mass media."

Solomon also did a post-Iraq-trip piece -- entitled "Fame's Price Isn't Loss of Right to Voice Dissent" -- for The Sun of Baltimore that was picked up by other papers via the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service. Solomon said celebrities are usually criticized for expressing their views only when they take stands that might be unpopular. "If Mr. Penn had gone to a U.S. military base in the Persian Gulf region to support the anticipated war against Iraq, it's hard to imagine that America's cable news channels would be filled with the kind of fierce arguments that have raged about his peace-oriented trip to Baghdad," Solomon wrote.

In his lengthy May 30 message, Penn said he thought it was important to visit Iraq "to replace television images with a real sense of place and people," and added that "I made no comments in Baghdad against our government. Not one. I did, however, declare an acceptance of some personal accountability for my government's actions, those then, and now, paid for in part by my tax dollars."

Penn also wrote that Saddam Hussein was "a beast among men" but decried the deaths caused by the U.S. invasion, the ignoring of worldwide antiwar sentiment, and the way regime change is benefiting certain U.S. corporations.

He further noted that, with a few exceptions, Democrats have been "entirely complicit" in Bush's actions.

Penn -- who provided the afterword for Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You, a 2003 book by Solomon and Reese Erlich -- could not be reached for comment. When asked why the Times ad was placed, Buxbaum replied: "Because Sean cares deeply for our country."