Comments on: What exactly is a Journalist again? http://siliconangle.com/blog/2009/11/09/what-exactly-is-a-journalist-again/ Computer Science meets Social Science Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:10:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: paul carr http://siliconangle.com/blog/2009/11/09/what-exactly-is-a-journalist-again/comment-page-1/#comment-6208 paul carr Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:47:05 +0000 http://siliconangle.net/ver2/?p=9655#comment-6208 Uh, interesting point, save for one tiny detail. Neither Frank X. Shaw nor Dan Lyons were talking about my post. In fact they were talking about a totally different post by Mike Arrington concerning social gaming. A casual glance at either should have made this obvious. Still, I think you just made my point about social media repeating errors as fact - so, thanks, I guess. Best, Paul Uh, interesting point, save for one tiny detail. Neither Frank X. Shaw nor Dan Lyons were talking about my post. In fact they were talking about a totally different post by Mike Arrington concerning social gaming. A casual glance at either should have made this obvious.

Still, I think you just made my point about social media repeating errors as fact – so, thanks, I guess.

Best,

Paul

]]> By: Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins http://siliconangle.com/blog/2009/11/09/what-exactly-is-a-journalist-again/comment-page-1/#comment-5943 Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:23:46 +0000 http://siliconangle.net/ver2/?p=9655#comment-5943 Christopher, I think I could respond one of two ways: either you're outrightly wrong, or we have a difference of opinion on the definition of news and journalism. I think I'm going with the former. At this point, it's pretty undeniable that large groups of people can act as journalists without trying. Look at the nature of Digg, Twitter, and Facebook. Sure, every system has it's flaws, but it's serving the purpose and intent of journalism for wide swaths of the population, and doing at least as well at it's job in that as traditional media has. To believe otherwise is to put your head in the sand. Christopher, I think I could respond one of two ways: either you’re outrightly wrong, or we have a difference of opinion on the definition of news and journalism. I think I’m going with the former.

At this point, it’s pretty undeniable that large groups of people can act as journalists without trying. Look at the nature of Digg, Twitter, and Facebook. Sure, every system has it’s flaws, but it’s serving the purpose and intent of journalism for wide swaths of the population, and doing at least as well at it’s job in that as traditional media has.

To believe otherwise is to put your head in the sand.

]]> By: Christopher Suter http://siliconangle.com/blog/2009/11/09/what-exactly-is-a-journalist-again/comment-page-1/#comment-5928 Christopher Suter Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:02:40 +0000 http://siliconangle.net/ver2/?p=9655#comment-5928 Please pardon my error -- Carr wrote the Techcrunch article, not the editorial about it. I'm clearly no journalist. I don't think this changes the overall absurdity of the sequence with respect to my above argument. Please pardon my error — Carr wrote the Techcrunch article, not the editorial about it. I’m clearly no journalist. I don’t think this changes the overall absurdity of the sequence with respect to my above argument.

]]> By: Christopher Suter http://siliconangle.com/blog/2009/11/09/what-exactly-is-a-journalist-again/comment-page-1/#comment-5927 Christopher Suter Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:56:07 +0000 http://siliconangle.net/ver2/?p=9655#comment-5927 Let us recall the sequence of events: 1) A terrible tragedy happened. 2) Techcrunch published an editorial about the events and people who were there. 3) Paul Carr wrote an editorial about the Techcrunch editorial 3) Dan Lyon wrote an editorial about Paul Carr's editorial 4) Frank X. Shaw wrote an editorial about Dan Lyon's editorial 5) Mark Hopkins wrote an editorial about whether the above sequence was arguably a journalistic endeavor. 6) I followed a link on twitter that landed me here. Let's be clear: journalism is the gathering and presentation of facts about events for the purpose of educating a group of people about what (might have) transpired. It's pretty simple to define (albeit exceedingly difficult to perform, and thus deserving of great respect when done properly). Saying "any time you have a group of thinkers and writers together working towards common goals, news will happen on it’s own" is like saying that any time you get a group of SEO experts together a successful website will make itself. It's not just wrong, it sounds like it doesn't even know what it's talking about. Let us recall the sequence of events:
1) A terrible tragedy happened.
2) Techcrunch published an editorial about the events and people who were there.
3) Paul Carr wrote an editorial about the Techcrunch editorial
3) Dan Lyon wrote an editorial about Paul Carr’s editorial
4) Frank X. Shaw wrote an editorial about Dan Lyon’s editorial
5) Mark Hopkins wrote an editorial about whether the above sequence was arguably a journalistic endeavor.
6) I followed a link on twitter that landed me here.

Let’s be clear: journalism is the gathering and presentation of facts about events for the purpose of educating a group of people about what (might have) transpired. It’s pretty simple to define (albeit exceedingly difficult to perform, and thus deserving of great respect when done properly).

Saying
“any time you have a group of thinkers and writers together working towards common goals, news will happen on it’s own”
is like saying that any time you get a group of SEO experts together a successful website will make itself. It’s not just wrong, it sounds like it doesn’t even know what it’s talking about.

]]> By: Angela Connor http://siliconangle.com/blog/2009/11/09/what-exactly-is-a-journalist-again/comment-page-1/#comment-5920 Angela Connor Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:46:11 +0000 http://siliconangle.net/ver2/?p=9655#comment-5920 I meant to write "TV/broadcast and print"news stories. I meant to write “TV/broadcast and print”news stories.

]]> By: Angela Connor http://siliconangle.com/blog/2009/11/09/what-exactly-is-a-journalist-again/comment-page-1/#comment-5919 Angela Connor Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:44:53 +0000 http://siliconangle.net/ver2/?p=9655#comment-5919 This is always an interesting debate to me. I am a journalist. I have written and produced TV and news stories for years. I have a degree in journalism. But that degree is not what makes me a journalist, it's the writing, researching and reporting that does that. I am also a blogger, and I wear different hats. I feel that when I interject my own opinion in pieces, I am blogging because I believe that journalists present facts, not commentary. I just wrote an article for EContent Magazine on Measuring Community Effectiveness. It has no opinion. I reported the story and wrote it through, using the perspectives of others to show many sides and trains of thought. Now, I do believe that the line is beginning to blur and that a title is now what deems your content journalistic. I think that anyone can commit an act of journalism, though they may not label themselves a journalist. i will stop now, because i can literally talk about this forever. There is room for everyone and new models HAVE to emerge. This is always an interesting debate to me. I am a journalist. I have written and produced TV and news stories for years. I have a degree in journalism. But that degree is not what makes me a journalist, it’s the writing, researching and reporting that does that. I am also a blogger, and I wear different hats. I feel that when I interject my own opinion in pieces, I am blogging because I believe that journalists present facts, not commentary. I just wrote an article for EContent Magazine on Measuring Community Effectiveness. It has no opinion. I reported the story and wrote it through, using the perspectives of others to show many sides and trains of thought. Now, I do believe that the line is beginning to blur and that a title is now what deems your content journalistic. I think that anyone can commit an act of journalism, though they may not label themselves a journalist. i will stop now, because i can literally talk about this forever. There is room for everyone and new models HAVE to emerge.

]]> By: Randy Giusto http://siliconangle.com/blog/2009/11/09/what-exactly-is-a-journalist-again/comment-page-1/#comment-5889 Randy Giusto Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:31:22 +0000 http://siliconangle.net/ver2/?p=9655#comment-5889 Well to me journalism and journalists still means there is an editor involved to shape or twist the story (depending on your point of view) into its end result. So the prose can be manpulated. With blogging, you are chief cook and bottle washer. I'm sure the big blogging sites have a final set of eyes for legal purposes. But I see bloggers more as opinionists or shapers of public opinion. Still, I agree, the business model of news and opinion has been turned on its head. Well to me journalism and journalists still means there is an editor involved to shape or twist the story (depending on your point of view) into its end result. So the prose can be manpulated. With blogging, you are chief cook and bottle washer. I’m sure the big blogging sites have a final set of eyes for legal purposes.

But I see bloggers more as opinionists or shapers of public opinion. Still, I agree, the business model of news and opinion has been turned on its head.

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