3 ms·

I like how Reuters shies away from acknowledging Greenwald is a journalist. Apparently reporting on the US government makes you an activist these days.

by Vivtek 13y ago

redcap 13y ago
They go on to call him "a blogger and civil liberties activist who lives in Rio de Janeiro". In comparison, Wikipedia lists him as an "American political commentator, lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Greenwald http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Greenwald
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
  I smell an edit war. I wonder how many times it has been changed. edit: I checked, looks like none, someone go change it and let's watch the fireworks.
marcosdumay 13y ago
A newspaper won't acknowledge somebody that does not work for a newspaper as journalist.
- jlgreco 13y ago
  Reuters is not a newspaper. However The Guardian is.
  - Vivtek 13y ago
    And for those not following along, Greenwald moved from Salon to the Guardian last year. As a journalist.
pekk 13y ago
Whether he is a journalist or not, Greenwald is unquestionably an activist. Or is Reuters required to take sides with Greenwald on pains of becoming an Enemy Of the People?
- Vivtek 13y ago
  Oh, nice rhetoric. But yes, I am in fact saying that by classifying Greenwald as less than a full journalist (an activist, a blogger - anything but a professional who earns his living as a credentialed journalist), Reuters is tacitly supporting the government in their surveillance state normalcy and is, as you so colorfully put it, an enemy of the people in a very literal and immediate sense. I particularly like how you kind of strawman me and ad-hominem me in the same phrase there. Are you aware that the phrase "enemy of the people" is associated with Stalinist propaganda and therefore has overtones of Red Scare and McCarthyism, and in later years a certain dilettante unseriousness on the part of the acusee? Or is that just unconscious for you? Either way, thanks for contributing. I'm always happy to see people who are unclear about what I'm saying to ask for greater clarity.
  - pekk 13y ago
    Reuters isn't tacitly saying anything. Reuters is not required to take a particular, positive POV toward Greenwald in order to be objective. That isn't objectivity.
    - Vivtek 13y ago
      Really? By identifying Greenwald as an activist and a "blogger" (which is shorthand for "amateur") and not identifying him as a journalist, Reuters most definitely is making a tacit statement of his role in society, whether that makes you uncomfortable or not. By identifying his role using words that indicate amateur status, they are supporting the government's desired point of view. I honestly can't tell if you're just naive or if you disagree with me politically, but if it's naivete I encourage you to start thinking about these issues.

I like how Reuters shies away from acknowledging Greenwald is a journalist. Apparently reporting on the US government makes you an activist these days.

by Vivtek 13y ago

I like how Reuters shies away from acknowledging Greenwald is a journalist. Apparently reporting on the US government makes you an activist these days.

redcap 13y ago

They go on to call him "a blogger and civil liberties activist who lives in Rio de Janeiro". In comparison, Wikipedia lists him as an "American political commentator, lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Greenwald http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Greenwald

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
I smell an edit war. I wonder how many times it has been changed. edit: I checked, looks like none, someone go change it and let's watch the fireworks.

marcosdumay 13y ago

A newspaper won't acknowledge somebody that does not work for a newspaper as journalist.

jlgreco 13y ago
Reuters is not a newspaper. However The Guardian is.
- Vivtek 13y ago
  And for those not following along, Greenwald moved from Salon to the Guardian last year. As a journalist.

pekk 13y ago

Whether he is a journalist or not, Greenwald is unquestionably an activist. Or is Reuters required to take sides with Greenwald on pains of becoming an Enemy Of the People?

Vivtek 13y ago
Oh, nice rhetoric. But yes, I am in fact saying that by classifying Greenwald as less than a full journalist (an activist, a blogger - anything but a professional who earns his living as a credentialed journalist), Reuters is tacitly supporting the government in their surveillance state normalcy and is, as you so colorfully put it, an enemy of the people in a very literal and immediate sense. I particularly like how you kind of strawman me and ad-hominem me in the same phrase there. Are you aware that the phrase "enemy of the people" is associated with Stalinist propaganda and therefore has overtones of Red Scare and McCarthyism, and in later years a certain dilettante unseriousness on the part of the acusee? Or is that just unconscious for you? Either way, thanks for contributing. I'm always happy to see people who are unclear about what I'm saying to ask for greater clarity.
- pekk 13y ago
  Reuters isn't tacitly saying anything. Reuters is not required to take a particular, positive POV toward Greenwald in order to be objective. That isn't objectivity.
  - Vivtek 13y ago
    Really? By identifying Greenwald as an activist and a "blogger" (which is shorthand for "amateur") and not identifying him as a journalist, Reuters most definitely is making a tacit statement of his role in society, whether that makes you uncomfortable or not. By identifying his role using words that indicate amateur status, they are supporting the government's desired point of view. I honestly can't tell if you're just naive or if you disagree with me politically, but if it's naivete I encourage you to start thinking about these issues.