On 09/05/2010 02:25 PM, Phil Smith III wrote: > Rick Fochtman wrote: >> I'll give you another oxymoron: journalistic integrity >> Today, it's becoming rarer and rarer and I suspect will die out completely >> in our lifetimes. :-( > > Now, now. Lumping all journalists in one boat is as unfair as putting all > computers into the same category. > > Some of us go to a fair amount of trouble to verify everything we write about. > > Having said that, I'll agree that *every* mainstream news story of which I've > ever had first-hand knowledge got several significant and important facts > wrong, such as names, ages, and confusing an employment address with a home > address. Whether that's incompetence or just the rush to publish is unclear. > None of them were malicious -- none of them improved (or hurt) the story for > anyone who didn't already know those facts -- but it does speak to a certain > lack of verification. > > ...phsiii >
I suspect the original sentiment was prompted by so many on cable "news" and talk shows that like to classify themselves as "journalists" when all they do is report the latest rumour without analysis as to validity, or referee opposing speakers as if all sides of an argument have equal validity. Not that infrequently these days, one side of an argument is just flat-out wrong and should be reported that way. A real journalist would not allow a guest speaker to build an argument from "facts" that are really falsehoods (lies) without immediately calling him to task - but that of course requires the journalist to have done his homework and know more than the person being interviewed - a rare quality now days. People who are notorious for promoting demonstrable falsehoods should not be given free air time merely for the entertainment value, because there are unfortunately at least 20% of the population that will believe anything they hear on the air, no matter how ridiculous. -- Joel C. Ewing, Fort Smith, AR [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
