Laughing Wolf
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Why Journalism Is Dead In Traditional Media
If you happen to wonder why I don’t think traditional media even pretends to do real journalism anymore, or even understands the basic concepts of same, just go read this short piece and look towards the bottom. As Instapundit notes, this is in Columbia Journalism Review. The few practitioners of real journalism in traditional media are indeed a dying breed (or pushed out the door and into new media), and this shows why better than anything I’ve seen in a long time.
Monday, February 08, 2010
It Had Nothing To Do With Waterboarding
cross posted at Blackfive
Reporters rarely get to write their own headline, that task being reserved for the copy desk or its equivalent. That said, the headline writers at Foxnews.com have been doing a very bad job of headlines recently. In fact, a number of the headlines to do with the military have sounded a bit like they were hired from the DU.
Case in point: this story about a soldier abusing his child. What he did to her was not waterboarding, or even close to it. In my opinion, it was attempted drowning/attempted murder, and child abuse and only in the fever dreams of the deranged was it anything close to or to do with waterboarding. As point of order, my sincere hope is that if the charges are true, they throw the book at the scum and toss his sorry ass out and into civilian incarceration.
Then there is the one about the ”Special Forces Assassins“ that I have to feel is another fever dream from a deranged copy desk person. If a real military person said that in those exact words and way, then I think they need a party. Sock party out back specifically.
Feh.
LW
really not as grumpy today as he sounds, despite yet another winter storm alert…
Saturday, September 05, 2009
The Associated Press Shows Its Colours Once Again
Go read this and this if you have not already. My thoughts are as follows, as taken from various comments and exchanges made today:
FWIIW, I think that what she did was reprehensible on many levels and a complete abrogation of her duties as a journalist. She apparently wanted to make people “think” about the war (i.e. oppose it), which violates the canons of journalism about being impartial and fair. It was also a violation of the embed agreement I also believe. She did this not for journalistic reasons, but for political ones and for self-gain (IMO). She’s angling for a Pulitzer and other awards, and will wear her “martyrdom” for what is about to descend upon her from the military, milblogs, and anyone with basic common decency, and use that martyrdom for yet more personal gain.
Yes, military photographers do, can, and have taken similar photos. Some from WWII are only now being released as I understand it. They do document, but they do so in a way that is respectful, careful of privacy (and even HIPPA issues these days), and careful of the wishes and feelings of those being photographed.
My personal take is that I have no problem with the shot being taken, but in its use and it’s use against the specific wishes of the family. If she truly wanted to document, she would not have published now but waited as many good and respectable photojournalists (see many in WWII and even into Vietnam) have done.
I think it’s time for an “Army of Davids” approach to the problem. If the AP thinks this is so grand, then let’s start photographing them. Them doing what they do, for that is history too, and deserves to be documented in full, right? After all, the are such an important part of history, with an awesome responsibility, with which comes power, and power must be watched and recorded for posterity. Let’s document that, from wake to sleep, life to death, every aspect, and run them on the web. Every good job, every bad job, every nooner, every trip, comments they make as asides in public, every moment as they are sick, drunk, sober, or dying. Hey the public has a right to know and must know all aspects. Let’s see how they like it when its them and theirs done like this, and let’s be sure to start with Julie Jacobson and Thomas Curley, but if you happen to get someone lower and document them for posterity, that’s fine too.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Support PMI and Blackfive
Note: This post is sticky for the next week or two. Please scroll down for fresh content.
Grim has posted about this here and here. I know a number of my fellow bloggers who read here have complained about the not just poor reporting that fails of every standard, canon, and rule of journalism, not to mention the outright lies and enemy propaganda passed off as real reporting. I hope any readers I still have left have done so as well…
Okay, you’ve complained. I’ve complained. Now is a time to act. Bill Roggio and his team have shown the world what real reporting is. Accurate, fair, on-the-spot. It is everything I was taught journalism could be and should be. So, step up. Do more than complain. Give up a six-pack, a meal out, just one small thing a month. Make a donation. That donation will help Public Multimedia do even more, and in the process reach an even wider audience. It can and will also help send a Blackfive embed or two out. The more you donate, the more can be done. This is but one thing going on in that particular battle, but it is a very important part.
Quit whining about us losing the information war, and fire a shot in it by donating to Public Multimedia.
LW
Friday, December 22, 2006
Laugh of the Day: AP vs. Bloggers
This is wonderful. Go read it, and thanks to Instapundint for the link.
Content copyright C. Blake Powers and the individual authors. Comments become the property of C. Blake Powers and may be altered, edited, deleted, and used by C. Blake Powers or the individual authors without restriction or recompense.
