No Money, No Angle
Posted on December 17, 2008 at 9:48 amXark! declares that true watchdog journalism is rare:
What percentage of your local news media bandwidth is actually devoted to ORIGINAL watchdogging by local journalists? I don’t have figures, but after 20 years in the business I’m here to report that the percentage is tiny. Watchdogging is expensive, it angers people with power and influence, it pisses off huge swaths of the audience you’re trying to serve, and effective watchdogging requires sustained study and careful analysis.
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Stop, You’re Both Right
Posted on December 10, 2008 at 2:22 pmMike Byrd takes on the Nashville Scene for calling into question the journalistic skills of bloggers:
Far be it from me to pretend that all bloggers are skilled and honest people, but I have read a few who are good writers and skilled at relaying information accurately without presuming to call themselves “journalists.” Why plunge non-mainstream bloggers who may have some experience and training in interviewing, ethnography, or data collection and analysis into the hoard of thousands who are just expressing another opinion across a sea of subjectivity?
On the contrary, I’ve observed a few journalists double-load queries, ask leading and biased questions, omit lede-changing information, and directly appeal to audience emotions instead of their critical reason. And some of the journalists make too much money and have too much notoriety for such malpractice. Does that indict all journalists? No. Does that mean they should be laid off en masse? Hardly. But it does mean that “trained journalists” don’t necessarily perform well. And I’ll give the Scene denizens all such journalists.
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Briley Broadsides Bloggers: He’s In Your Blogosphere Restricting All Your Access [VIDEO]
Posted on May 20, 2008 at 2:15 pmRepresentative Rob Briley criticizes the press and bloggers cautioning that if media doesn’t act responsibly they will be denied access to information.
Rep. Briley, of course, was the subject of quite a few barrels of ink and webspace after getting clipped for DUI after a hit and run. Following his arrest, Briley gave the name of a lobbyist as his next of kin. Later, it was reported by the Nashville Scene that Briley and the lobbyist were having an affair:
“The right to a free and open press though comes with a responsibility, and from my experience over the past year, that responsibility is not being lived up to,” Briley (D-Nashville) said from the main House podium.
“We used to talk about the politics of personal destruction. Well that’s no longer what’s going on. It’s the publishing of personal destruction, and we owe it to ourselves to do better than that. We owe it to the rest of our society to do better than that.”
….Briley said that government needs to be “as open as possible.”
“But the press needs to understand that if they’re not responsible with that information, that they’re not going to have access to it anymore,” Briley said.
In addition to the mainstream press, Briley criticized bloggers, remarking that “just because you say it, doesn’t make it true.”
SEE ALSO:
Katie Allison Granju
Stacey Campfield
Nashville Scene
The AP
Bill Hobbs
Jennifer Peebles (II)
Sean Braisted
Kay Brooks
Grantham Is Talking
IRRESPONSIBLE LINKS:
Rob Briley Clipped For DUI
Casada To Briley: “Resign”
More Reaction To The Arrest Of Rep. Rob Briley
Crime Spree?
The Rob Briley DUI Video
The Agony Of Da Feet — Against The Window
Lawyer Lobbyist
Representative Rob Briley In The Wind
Representative Rob Briley Found In Tunica Casino
Mary Littleton No Longer Listed As Trial Lawyer Association’s Lobbyist (UPDATED)
Briley Pleads Guilty To DUI, Diversion For The Rest
A Briley Diverted: The Day After
Mr. Briley’s Wild Ride
A Place Of Discovery: Rob Briley’s Absence Explained
Rob Briley From The Well On Getting Well On YouTube
BREAKING: State Rep. Rob Briley Will Not Run For Re-Election
Gone Briley Gone
Briley’s Ophelia Ford Moment
Welcome To The Current State Of TV News
Posted on April 17, 2008 at 6:58 pmMichael Silence on last night’s Democratic debate:
[I]f yet again debate moderators intentionally became part of the story how can any assessment of the debate be credible? This was apparently yet another example of showmanship over substance. And yet again, I’m happy I opted for a “Law & Order” rerun over glitz disguised as news.
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