3 ms·
It's total bullshit. There's no half way. You don't get to pick and choose which ethics you adhere to. Arrington's dodge has always been "I'm not a journalist,
by jeffreymcmanus 15y ago
It's total bullshit. There's no half way.
You don't get to pick and choose which ethics you adhere to. Arrington's dodge has always been "I'm not a journalist," so he shouldn't have to adhere to journalistic ethics. But if you report on news, you're a reporter, simple as that. It doesn't matter whether your news organization was founded 150 years ago or 5 years ago, or whether you publish with electrons or dead trees. Journalistic ethics are there for a reason, particularly in business journalism.
I mean, I'd like to exempt myself from the cumbersome ethical restrictions pertaining to murder and robbery, but simply declaring I'm above all that doesn't make it so.
- hammock 15y agoI wonder if you have the same criticism of Jon Stewart, who has also frequently defended himself by saying, "I'm a comedian, not a journalist."
- mathattack 15y agoThe sad part is Stewart covers news better than most so called journalists.
- bluedanieru 15y agoAnd with less bias.
- jeffreymcmanus 15y agoJon Stewart is also a journalist. Saying he's not doesn't make it not so. But unless Stewart was elected to the Senate when I wasn't paying attention, he doesn't have the ethical conflict that someone who reports on the technology business while simultaneously investing in it has. (I'll pre-empt your next likely counterpoint by pointing out that having a point of view is not the same as an ethical conflict of interest, and that opinion has always had a place in the discipline of journalism.)
- davidtyleryork 15y agoOh god I'd love to see Jon Stewart in the Senate. Stewart for Senate 2012!