How fun to watch the media talk about themselves "off the record".
"Not discussed directly in this forum, but effectively used by others to bludgeon us this morning, was the question of a reporter "exempting" himself from the Plame story and then appearing on TV as a pundit -- and washington post representative -- trashing the fitzgerald probe as much ado about gossip."
They should all be forced to watch (until it sunk in) the "Yes Minister" episode on anonymous leaks to the press.
They start with the premise that there are situations where relying on anonymous sources is the right thing to do, and then argue with each other 'till the cows come home about exactly what those circumstances are.
I have a suggestion to them: Just don't do it!
For journalists willing to do the work there are plenty of sensational stories with sources in the public domain (although hidden by more red tape than the average individual can wade through).
Take a look at the Wall Street Journal's legal efforts to get the facts on this case made public for a good example of the right way to go about this.
A press that engages in rumor mongering makes itself as much a tool for tyranny as against it.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment