, of CNN, actually called John McCain a liberal. I might have done a cartoonish double-take when I heard this except for one thing: This kind of nonsensical political commentary--based on simplistic and, apparently, misunderstood labels--is SOP at CNN.
CNN is calling some races based on exit polls. Why would they do this? Well, what else do they have to "report" for the next couple of hours. If you're gonna air election-night coverage beginning with the closing of the polls, you gotta have something to "report." I wonder what they'll say if their polling turns out to be less than accurate.
Huffington is talking about plan to work with Jay Rosen's new project. , in covering the 2006 presidential campaign. We'll have citizen journalists in every state, she says. What's a citizen journalists, asks Diller. Mossberg, not missing a beat, jumps in: "It's like citizen surgery." Rim shot. Big laugh from the newspaper editors.
I have heard of journalists making this same statement, but I have never heard it with my own ears. And if I ever do I will laugh heartily.
One could attack such a silly statement from so many angles. But the most obvious angle is also the most amusing one. That is: Journalists generally (and rightly) bristle at the idea that they should ever participate in the same kind of state-sanctioned education or be subject to the same kind of state-sponsored licensing as physicians. Freedom of the "press" (i.e. a for all sorts of information gathering and disseminating) is the right to distribute information to the public. It is a First Amendment right. Cutting into people with sharp little knives is not. You don't have to prove to anyone you can practice journalism (except maybe your crusty local editor if you want to get paid for it). You most certainly do have to prove to the state that you can cut into people without killing them (most of the time).
There are two primary differences between citizen journalists and professionals (i.e. those who get a paycheck): 1) The paycheck; and 2) Professional journalists enjoy, but don't discuss, the de facto licensing that most certainly exists, e.g. in the form of employer-issued press credentials that pros are only too happy for authorities of all kinds to recognize.
There are a few other differences that involve skills in news gathering and writing. A good dose of sure wouldn't hurt either. To get you up to speed on ethical practice, I recommend and . None of these skills are particularly difficult to acquire. They are, however, often quite difficult to practice well. Journalists ought to applaud citizens who want to take on this job as amateurs. Journalists ought to want to help.
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Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 2:26 am under
