Quote:
Originally posted by Coramoor
It doesn't matter how many reporters were fired. You act like I'm attacking you or something. You are getting pissed off because you have 'first hand experience'.
Like I said, reporters today don't have the reputation that Cronkrite had. Today people don't trust reporters because any mistake or bad information or made up story (no matter how few those may be) are spotlighted and everyone finds out about them.
The news is were we get our information and any time that is incorrect the integrity of the news takes an even bigger hit than misrepresentation in another field simply b/c of it's purpose.
Someone has blinders on here, but it isn't me.
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I will preface this by saying that I was a professional journalist for a handful of years at a smaller local paper. Whether that gives me "blinders" or not, I guess that's for everyone else to judge.
I appreciate your point that there are a number of journalists who have committed transgressions. People like Geraldo and Jayson Blair surely don't paint the best picture of the industry
However, what about Hearst and his band of reporters in the 20's? The reporters who knew of Kennedy's affairs? The sportswriters who were buddies with the the athletes, and thus never wrote of their problems?
I don't mean this to be rude, but if you get a chance, do some research on journalism of the early 20th century. For every Walter Cronkite and Edward Murrow, there were others who weren't practicing high jornalistic standards.
Now there are better journalism schools, better journalism internships, programs to develop better journalists. The industry and universities are trying to make sure that these trouble-makers are in the minority.
It really is a matter of higher public standards and more journalists being caught. This certainly isn't a bad thing, to hold the press to a higher standard than in the past. Does that make light of what Geraldo and others have done? No, their transgressions are still serious. However, we can't be making blanket statements about the "type of people" who are journalists.
Again, I appreciate your points here, and unfortunately quite a few people share your views. However, there are many journalists with integrity out there.