Pretty amusing bit in the online journal DailyFinance.com... you see, the other day, Timesman and all around top down beltway media tool James Risen got his choneys in a bunch because it was pointed out to him by the blogosphere that his big scoop about trillionses and trillionses of bucks in shiny rocks just lying around on the ground in Afghanistan really was BigNews™ ... in 2007.
So instead of sucking it up and moving on to the next bit, Risen decides to vent on bloggers and their impolitic insistence on being media watchdogs:
Bloggers should do their own reporting instead of sitting around in their pajamas.
Make you a deal: I will when you will.
No, really! If you want to have a old fashioned John Henry v. Steam Drill contest, bring it, punkass!
But more to the point, Poynter Online's Romensko page has an interesting bit that's related to this, that might help explain James Risen's defensiveness.
I would argue that the difficulty American journalists have with hearing or responding to criticism lies in the profession's pathological heritage of self-abnegation. We say, "To err is human," right? But journalists too often work inside an institutional culture which says to them, "Be inhuman." Do not have opinion – and if you do, for God's sake don't share them. Do not attend protests or take stands on issues. Do not vote; or, if you do, don't tell anyone whom you voted for.
The "good soldier" journalists buy into this acculturation. They suppress their own individuality and perspectives. They subsume their own work into the larger editorial "we," and learn to refer to themselves as "this reporter" instead of using the personal pronoun. When something goes wrong with the system they are a part of, when the little piece of journalism they have added to the larger edifice comes under attack for some flaw, they count on the edifice to protect them.
This may be a bit post-modern for a critique of the news room, but it is essentially right on. Also, in my experience, the thought of engaging a source or subject of my writing in some sort of public accountability also has legal consequences.
My first editor, P.J. Schlosser, used to have one hard, fast rule in the news room. Don't field your own complaint calls. If someone wants to complain about a story (or, God forbid, uses the 'L' word) that goes straight to the editor, and she will deal with it, because anything you say could potentially end up actionable in court.
And also, a lot of the time, sources, subjects and even readers feel ill-treated for one reason or another, and frankly aren't looking to make a reasoned media critique; they're just pissed-off and want their pound of media flesh so they can feel like they haven't been punked.
But with blogging and Mightee-Tubez-o'-teh-Internetses, the game has changed. It has become easier for Citizen X to fire up their laptop and see if what you wrote comports with truth or not, or at least point out things you might have missed.
This gets under reporters skins for two reasons:
- Risk aversion in the newsroom. Risk taking in many major newsrooms is discouraged and failure is harshly punished. Your job is often at stake.
- News reporters do not often see themselves as average citizens. They sometimes really buy into the whole "Fourth Estate" thing, which can lead to a sense of elitism, especially at the bigger, more institutional fish wraps like the Times or the WaPo.
So look, I understand that traditional ink and paper reporters are nervous, because it looks like their industry is vanishing. Well, it isn't, it's just changing shape. Unfortunately, your corporate owners and publishers haven't gotten a handle how to make a buck properly on it, yet.
The James Risens of the world should look at "Blogs" like Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo and tremble; to see the future of journalism online. It's active, it's fast, it's a community that not only respects readers, but engages them and expects their input and they are tearing it up.
Memo to James Risen: Bloggers in pajamas picking up the phone to do reporting is really the last thing you want, because that is going to be your quickest ticket to the back of the unemployment line...
mojo sends
