“Thank you, Gerald…”

Jaibones on December 4, 2006 at 8:05 PM

Or Jules, I should say.

We can’t live in an approximate fantasy world. If journalism is a profession, it must have and maintain professional standards.
I’m not really an Iraqi Police Captain, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!
Pablo on December 4, 2006 at 2:39 PM

Thanks Pablo. You do, on occasion, come up with the best lines!
I really needed a laugh today. Thanks.

Yeah, I thought Hemmer gave him the short sheet, too. Probably the time constraints of a short newscast on a busy network uh… really big news day uh… 24 hour a day, 7 day a week news program.

Ahem…

The Associated Press scandal-without-a-catchy-name continues today, as Tom Zeller Jr, of the NY Times bends over backwards to provide cover for the AP’s abortive attempts to brush aside the continuing criticism of their reporting of an incident where …

As a professional, I am bound legally to maintain standards in order to protect the public as well as for my own personal well being, e.g. performing services well to bring in more business. In journalism, they only have to answer to the marketplace….

To clarify or summarize my post above, journalism is not a profession, it is a business. Perhaps if the image of journalism as a “noble profession” were eliminated, people would be more willing to question exactly what is going on behind the reporting. — Mallard T. Drake

…and to add to my phrase which gave rise to this excellent analysis, journalism isn’t a profession, it’s a dodge.

Almost *EVERYONE* on this blog can write better, more succinctly and more clearly, than the even the best writers out doing it in the establishment press for a paycheck. Benjamin Franklin, in a piece credited to him but not explicitly authorized by him (see, I could work at the AP) stated that the 10% who could write a coherent sentence were, by the power of the press, empowered to dump on the 90% who couldn’t (or, I presume, wouldn’t, prefering honest employment.

Fact gathering doesn’t appear to have any bearing on journalism, so writing ability must be the sole criterion, and the overwhelming majority of them just aren’t very good writers…full stop.

So, as a job and as a college major track, it’s a dodge. Make sh*t up. Write it down. Submit it for grade. Get issued your sheepskin. *POOF* You’re a professional.

I wonder what engineers, health-care personnel, soldiers, telecommunications professionals, and even child-care providers think of such an unregulated “profession”, held to no standards of either conduct or accountability. Imagine someone as work-a-day and unpretentious as a glazier or a plumber…the dowdy old plumber…being able to throw out any and all code that interferes with his plans. We’d all of us be up to our navels in sewage.

…which, if you think of it, is where we’re at as far as journalism is concerned.

If it’s a business, it’s a mighty shoddy one…but it’s, as I said, a good dodge. First you set the standards for yourself, then you can change ‘em whenever you feel like it.

It’s like what Louis B. Mayer said about the moving picture business: you can sell your product but still retain posession of it. Priceless.

Charles Johnson has a round-up of links for the latest on “Where’s Jamil”, including a New York Times report which is “a little more fair than I expected”, considering all of the wagon-circling that’s par for the course in Big……

We can’t live in an approximate fantasy world. If journalism is a profession, it must have and maintain professional standards.

Agreed. However, journalism is not a profession like medicine, engineering, architecture, or the law in that one does not have to become licensed to practice journalism. Anyone can do it leagally. As a professional, I am bound legally to maintain standards in order to protect the public as well as for my own personal well being, e.g. performing services well to bring in more business. In journalism, they only have to answer to the marketplace. They can slant a story, use enough “conditional phrases,” and move onto the next issue without worry of reprisal. It can be a scummy business.

Long live the blogosphere!

We can’t live in an approximate fantasy world. If journalism is a profession, it must have and maintain professional standards.

I’m not really an Iraqi Police Captain, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

Fair and balance MSM? Poppy-cock!

I’ve started a drinking game where I take a shot of Jack every time NPR News leads with an anti-war story.

I haven’t been sober for years.

“I have no thought of saying The Associated Press is perfect. The frailties of human nature attach to it,” wrote Melville Stone, the great general manager of the AP. But he went on to say that “the thing it is striving for is a truthful, unbiased report of the world’s happenings … ethical in the highest degree.”

He wrote those words in 1914. They are true today.

William Amos on December 4, 2006 at 1:49 PM

Well, let’s just see.

Let me provide one example. You almost don’t notice it anymore, because it has been so subtle and very effective.

Has anyone noticed, that not only on a daily basis in the news papers, but on an hourly basis, on every news channel, and talk radio statioin, we are privy to how many soldiers were killed that day? I mean, day after day, for the past three years, non-stop, report after report, “Americans Killled!” “Americans Killled!” “Americans Killled!”!!!!!

No stories about how our brave soldiers have not lost a single battle. No stories about the peaceful areas of the country that are thriving. No stories about the completed public works projects, re-buiilt schools, hospitals, the immunization of thousands of children. No stories on ANY success by the newly trained Iraqi forces. No balance in reporting on the millions living in peace against the few that make the headlines.

Day in, day out, hour by hour “Americans Killled!”"Americans Killled!”!!!!

Add this to constant negative stories about Republicans with no balance about Democrats.

Print and broadcast ALL propoganda provided by the enemy without pointing out what it actually is.

Keep the thriving economy off of the front pages.

Then, as we all living our lives, we wonder why we have a sense of anxiety in our souls and a sense of something is wrong.

The stage has been set. Time to steer the sheeple to the polls with the right spin and point of view.

Fair and balance MSM? Poppy-cock!

Facts are for people who lack nuance.

So says Dan Riehl, combing the news for how other outlets are handling this. Eh, what does it matter? Let’s face it, you don’t need reporters in Iraq. Which is good, because we have almost none. Let’s just follow the……

How do you make an intelligent decision if the information you’re being fed is false?http://hotair.com/archives/2006/12/04/video-fox-news-covers-jamilgate/…

http://www.ap.org/pages/about/whatsnew/wn_112905.html

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES
AND PRINCIPLES

For more than a century and a half, men and women of The Associated Press have had the privilege of bringing truth to the world. They have gone to great lengths, overcome great obstacles – and, too often, made great and horrific sacrifices – to ensure that the news was reported quickly, accurately and honestly. Our efforts have been rewarded with trust: More people in more places get their news from the AP than from any other source.

In the 21st century, that news is transmitted in more ways than ever before – in print, on the air and on the Web, with words, images, graphics, sounds and video. But always and in all media, we insist on the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior when we gather and deliver the news.

That means we abhor inaccuracies, carelessness, bias or distortions. It means we will not knowingly introduce false information into material intended for publication or broadcast; nor will we alter photo or image content. Quotations must be accurate, and precise.

It means we always strive to identify all the sources of our information, shielding them with anonymity only when they insist upon it and when they provide vital information – not opinion or speculation; when there is no other way to obtain that information; and when we know the source is knowledgeable and reliable.

It means we don’t plagiarize.

It means we avoid behavior or activities that create a conflict of interest and compromise our ability to report the news fairly and accurately, uninfluenced by any person or action.

It means we don’t misidentify or misrepresent ourselves to get a story. When we seek an interview, we identify ourselves as AP journalists.

It means we don’t pay newsmakers for interviews, to take their photographs or to film or record them.

It means we must be fair. Whenever we portray someone in a negative light, we must make a real effort to obtain a response from that person. When mistakes are made, they must be corrected – fully, quickly and ungrudgingly.

And ultimately, it means it is the responsibility of every one of us to ensure that these standards are upheld. Any time a question is raised about any aspect of our work, it should be taken seriously.

“I have no thought of saying The Associated Press is perfect. The frailties of human nature attach to it,” wrote Melville Stone, the great general manager of the AP. But he went on to say that “the thing it is striving for is a truthful, unbiased report of the world’s happenings … ethical in the highest degree.”

He wrote those words in 1914. They are true today.