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Yeah this is the crux of the problem. As the definition of journalist becomes so broad that everyone falls into this category so to does the number of journali
by boringg 5y ago
Yeah this is the crux of the problem. As the definition of journalist becomes so broad that everyone falls into this category so to does the number of journalists going to prison.
The counter is that if there is too strict a definition of journalism - you put to many controls on the group. It almost feels like you should need some kind of standard to qualify as a journalist (again that has issues with it as well).
It's fraught either way but I don't think I am alone here when I say a lot of journalists around the world don't really qualify as journalists and are actually activists under guise (both on the right and on the left).
- chrisseaton 5y ago> The counter is that if there is too strict a definition of journalism - you put to many controls on the group. How so? I don't think 'journalist' is any kind of privileged or protected group - so you don't lose anything by not being a journalist do you?
- svachalek 5y agoTo the point that governments shouldn't be putting anyone in jail just for revealing their activity, there's a truth to that. But so far as we can use metrics like "journalists in jail" as a proxy for despotism, there's a loss when despots are hand-picking the journalists. As to privilege and protection, that depends a lot on regional laws.