I'm confused - are you telling me that no one in the journalism field can contribute to any political organization? Barbara Walters, Katie, even Eric Singer???? Who cares who, or what they give to on their own time? Am I missing something here?
I understand keeping personal opinion out of their news shows, but what they do on their own time is their business - right?
Correct me please -
These were the rules of "old journalism". NPR did a long Saturday commentary on the disputes between old and new journalism. The defenders of the old are not mere fuddy-duddies, but they think they're protecting a bastion of pseudo-objectivity that has already been destroyed by Fox anyway. The new journalists, particularly from the blogger and Twitter worlds, say that this fake objectivity was destroyed long ago, and the new rules should be "anything goes."
ReplyDeleteNPR commentators Saturday morning came to the same conclusion I would: They said the ban on contributions etc. is old fashioned and should go away. What is important is that anchors, reporters, analysts, bloggers, etc. should follow the rules of "full disclosure beforehand" - if you are going to be a public speaker, assume your entire life is an open book. If you spiked your pee at the doctor's office, the audience should know. If you hold stock in a company you talk about, the audience should know. If you're having an affair, the audience should know. If your library books are overdue, the audience should know. And if you're not ready to have NO private life, then stop being a journalist or blogger or speaking out at all. This isn't a matter of civil rights or privacy rights, but of wearing your beliefs on your sleeve when you enter the public arena.
And welcome to blogger world, woman with no private life any more! It's fun!
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