All the news that’s not fit to print
A few days ago a well-respected citizen in the small town I reside in, was unfortunately killed in a bicycle accident. An experienced cyclist wearing a helmet as always, he simply hit a pothole in the dimming light of dusk, and was thrown headfirst over the handlebars. One of those horrible reminders that life and fate are fickle and never to be taken for granted. In the days following however, I have witnessed an absolute outpouring of testimonials to one quality above all others of this gentleman…integrity…his insistence throughout his life of truthfulness and fairness in dealing with others, even to the point of sacrificing his career on occasion.
With a certain article in the New York Times still fresh in my mind. I couldn’t help but wonder what many of our contemporary “blog journalists” will be remembered for when it’s their time. “Integrity” “Truthfulness”… not a chance in hell.
When Michael Arrington openly and proudly boasts that what he reports in his highly popular TechCrunch blog is not always true, but that he “doesn’t want to lose the rawness of blogging.” The article points out that Arrington, with a law degree and no journalism training, sees less importance in credibility and fact checking than in an involved readership. “Getting it right is expensive,” he says. “Getting it first is cheap.” Now there’s a philosophy to live by and be remembered by.
None of this, and certainly not Arrington, his super arrogance, and his less-than credible blog posts, would be of much importance if it wasn’t, unfortunately, indicative of what passes for journalism in these days of blogs, tweets, and YouTube “gotchas.” Just when did reporting backed by solid investigative research become the exception and not the rule? Sure, we all want and demand our news fix quickly and conveniently in this fast paced world. But at the expense of truthfulness? Just when, exactly, did integrity become a four-letter word?
We in the PR profession often get blamed for playing slipshod with facts in defense of our clients. And undoubtedly some of us have. But we look like paragons of virtue compared to those interviewed for this Times article.
It was only a few brief months ago that Arrington wrote his famous blog about his life being threatened and therefore he was going to cease writing and go into hiding after someone deliberately walked up to him and spat in his face.
Arrington stated at the time it was “the right thing to do…and spend time getting a better perspective on what I’m spending my life doing.” Perhaps Arrington should have spent a bit more time on this reflection…or better yet, report in his next TechCrunch blog that he was heretofore going to only print real news…Wink. Wink.
When Michael Arrington openly and proudly boasts that what he reports in his highly popular TechCrunch blog is not always true, but that he “doesn’t want to lose the rawness of blogging.” The article points out that Arrington, with a law degree and no journalism training, sees less importance in credibility and fact checking than in an involved readership. “Getting it right is expensive,” he says. “Getting it first is cheap.” Now there’s a philosophy to live by and be remembered by.
None of this, and certainly not Arrington, his super arrogance, and his less-than credible blog posts, would be of much importance if it wasn’t, unfortunately, indicative of what passes for journalism in these days of blogs, tweets, and YouTube “gotchas.” Just when did reporting backed by solid investigative research become the exception and not the rule? Sure, we all want and demand our news fix quickly and conveniently in this fast paced world. But at the expense of truthfulness? Just when, exactly, did integrity become a four-letter word?
We in the PR profession often get blamed for playing slipshod with facts in defense of our clients. And undoubtedly some of us have. But we look like paragons of virtue compared to those interviewed for this Times article.
It was only a few brief months ago that Arrington wrote his famous blog about his life being threatened and therefore he was going to cease writing and go into hiding after someone deliberately walked up to him and spat in his face.
Arrington stated at the time it was “the right thing to do…and spend time getting a better perspective on what I’m spending my life doing.” Perhaps Arrington should have spent a bit more time on this reflection…or better yet, report in his next TechCrunch blog that he was heretofore going to only print real news…Wink. Wink.
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