Washington's nice problem - too many nice people in Washington DC politics

Washington Monthly, Sept, 1994 by David Segal

The Washington Monthly

Journalism Award

For May 1994 Is Presented to Diane Sawyer and Robbie Gordon, Prime Time Live

Helene Lewis had four pap smears taken in eight years to check for cervical cancer, and each one came back normal. But each one was wrong. Prime Time Live's undercover investigation of cervical cancer screening labs reveals how poor training of technicians, outdated equipment, and a salary system that rewards speed above accuracy contribute to the high error rate that cost Lewis and many others their lives. When Prime Time Live sent one lab a batch of pre-examined slides for inspection, the lab misidentified 70 percent of cancerous slides as normal. Pap smears can be invaluable help in identifying the early stages of cervical cancer, when it is easily treatable. Sawyer's on-target investigation shows that a woman's first line of defense is in desperate need of reinforcement.

For June 1994 Is Presented to Thomas Omestad, Foreign Affairs

When handling a volatile foreign leader, how does the president know how to walk the tightrope between toughness and provocation? Unfortunately, he relies on the C.I.A.'s psychological profiles, exercises in cocktail-party psychology jigsawed together with incomplete and often dubious information. The agency's most public fiasco came from its assessment that Haiti's president-in-exile, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, suffered from a history of mental illness. Their sources, it turns out, were Aristide's opponents in the military who now rule in his absence. Omestad warns that the stakes are far greater when it comes to Kim Jong II, the new dictator of North Korea. "The C.I.A.'s record on that point is not encouraging," he writes. "And in a crisis that threatens war, flawed profiles could lead to deadly miscalculation."

The Monthly Journalism Award is presented each month to the best newspaper, magazine, television, or radio story (or series of stories) on our political system. Nominations for any newspaper, magazine, or radio or television station in the country are welcome. The subject can be government in its federal, state, or municipal manifestation. Please send nominations to Monthly Journalism Award, 1611 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20009. Two copies of the article or broadcast text should accompany the nomination.

Nominations for stories published or aired in July will close September 15. The winner will be announced in the October issue.