Yesterday, I posted a diary about how we should hold journalists to a higher code of journalistic and ethical standards as outlined in my diary and was attacked vehemently and ridicule for having the nerve to expect journalists to have such standards and be held accountable if they lie. And a member further argued that there is no enforceable code of conduct for journalists therefore implying that they should be able to write and report whatever they want and how they see fit. He further went on to say that it is fascist if you do try to hold them accountable for speaking lies.
Here is some of his quote:
There is no enforceable code of conduct for journalists, and if there were, you and every other blogging "citizen journalist" would be in violation of it.
There's more if you are interested...
Quick questions to think about: How many trolls are in here? How many Purists are left at KOS? How many pragmatists here? How many trolls disguise as Pragmatists? How many trolls that don't consider themselves trolls? And finally: How many trolls that don't even know they are trolls?
First of all let me give you my post and their post first:
Here is what I posted:
Let me start out by saying that it is refreshing to have so many Americans picking up the stick and slapping those liars and bitches hard, right where the sun don't shine; they surely deserve it! Some of you have even been relentless at going after them and I am so proud to be an American knowing that there are so many of us out there, all across America, who genuinely and deeply care about the well being of ordinary Americans and the sacred soil that we live on. I did not feel this way last year when I wrote this piece on blogger.com, Huffpo and DailyKos (link http://zenwire.com ) blasting the New York Times to shame and all those so called liars pretenting to be journalists. I attacked them because they are self-professed truth sayers who are outright liars. Because they proclaim and introduce themselves as journalists, it is automatically implied that their words and reporting are fair, equal and balanced; and it is expected of us to accept their words as insightful, wise and full of benevolent truths without question or doubt. I especially attacked them because they themselves, their entire profession, has a specific Code of Journalistic Conduct and Ethical Standards that requires them to adhere to, among other things:
* Use original sources of information, including interviews with people directly involved in a story, original documents and other direct sources of information, whenever possible;
* Use multiple original sources of information, especially if the subject of the report is controversial;
* Check every fact reported;
* Find and report every side of a story possible;
* Report without bias, meaning don't give any side of the story any more emphasis or credance than any others;
* Approach researching and reporting a story with a balance between openmindedness and skepticism.
* Use careful judgment when organizing and reporting information.
* Be careful about granting confidentiality to sources (news organizations usually have specific rules that journalists must following concerning grants of confidentiality);
* Do not accept gifts or favors from any subject of a report, and avoid the appearance of being influenced;
* Do not report on a subject in which the journalist has a personal interest or bias that cannot be set aside.
They often quote their historic importance and cummulative power and wisdom that can only come with age. Presently, this could not be further from the truth. Is this the wisdom that comes with age that they want to shove down our throats.
Journalism used to be an honorable profession and was held in high esteem when I was growing up. But now, the liars and whores within their own system have managed to hijack their discipline and use it as platform to promote and further their own selfish agendas, detriment to the lives of all Americans. They have used it to blatently rob every single one of us. They are pulling us into another war that will cost us Trillions. They will spill more blood of our young, who are courageous beyond measure, but are blinded buying into their twisted vision of self-patriotism. And we could never blame our idealistic youths either, how can we when they are constantly barraged by messages so cryptic and venomous that even half of our grown ups can't even decipher and figure it out for themselves. We should blame the pied piper. We should blame the ones that are actually promoting these atrocities. We should be blaming those malicious instigators that know full well the dire consequences and the bloodbath that will surely ensue if they get their way. And you will not let them fool you, for if they still defend their justifications and reasonings for the Iraq war, even in the face of all this overwhelming evidence, even in the face of over 60% of the American people againts this war, even after all this time, then you know where they stand. Where they stand is high on a pirch overlooking THEIR world and we are all just tools to them, stupid little humans to manipulate, mere pawns in their game to see who gets to be Queen at their dance and have the honor to pen the biggest and longest chapter in our history books for our children. The American people have woken up and are complaining loudly, but they still do not hear, they refuse to. How loud do we have to scream for you to hear us just a little, please tell us: you are robbing us, don't you see? You are robbing every single decent Americans of our good name! You are killing us. Have you no shame?
This is why I hate lying journalists and we should be writing their names down and discuss their behaviors and flesh out the most devious among them. When they are revealed, and many will be easy to spot, we should be relentless and ruthless in our actions towards these maglignant scums that call themselves human, because they really feel no shame! Only they matter.
And one more thing, not all of them are this way, time has proven me wrong on this point, there are still heroes among us. And those few true heroes wherever they speak up the truth, deserve to be praised and admire and hopefuly one day, emulated by all of us.
This was some of the replies that I got:
Your idiocy is exceeded only by your illiteracy.
There is no enforceable code of conduct for journalists, and if there were, you and every other blogging "citizen journalist" would be in violation of it.
To suggest 1) that there should be one indicates you would be happier in a fascist dictatorship and 2) that people should take names and be "ruthless" toward journalists borders on the criminal itself. Needless to say, you wouldn't even know what the hell you were against if it weren't for journalists, mainstream or otherwise.
I don't know how old you are -- somewhere between 2 and 6, probably -- but to say journalists were more honorable when you were growing up ignores the depradations of honesty and fair play by the corpo-fascists Luce, McCormick and Hearst and the presidential speechwriting of Lippmann, Krock and Bradlee.
Not to mention the wholesale showering of cars, sport tickets and liquor by local businesses on the reporters who covered them.
Take a shower, Karl
There was one response that was objective and I applaud him for speaking up because if you read the thread, you would be intimidated by Ira if you tried. Please make commments while I write more on my thoughts of what is happening at KOS.
P.S. and my greetings to Senator Kerry, I have thoughts I would love to share with you but I must first find out why truths are no longer self evident at KOS.