On 5 Sep 2010 14:17:23 -0700, in bit.listserv.ibm-main you wrote: >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.
As someone who was in a field where you can't get a consensus on whether JES2 is better than JES3 and who is a follower of transportation issues (and a member of Transport Action Atlantic), I doubt a reporter would be able to determine easily which side of an argument is flat out wrong, even with some hours of research. Clark Morris ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
