Bloggers Have No Right To Blog
posted in Cultural, Social Commentary, News & Events | | | View blog reactions | Print This PostSports Writer aka loud mouth t.v. talking-head, Stephen A. Smith, made this assertion in a recent interview.
It sprung from a question about the news paper industry:
==On if he considers going back to newspapers, or whether it’s a dying industry:
“I don’t believe that. All the newspaper industry has to do is connect itself better with the internet and guess what? People will read the newsaper on the internet, not rely so much on the paper copy and get with the internet age more so than it has. The foundation of the newspaper business… should never die. We shoud do all we can possible to make sure it lives in perpetuity because it’s extremely important with everything. It keeps radio and television on their ps and qs.
Yes, I absolutely agree that’s what newspapers/journalism should be and do.
Mr. myopic continues though:
“And when you look at the internet business, what’s dangerous about it is that people who are clearly unqualified get to disseminate their piece to the masses. I respect the journalism industry, and the fact of the matter is …someone with no training should not be allowed to have any kind of format whatsoever to disseminate to the masses to the level which they can. They are not trained. Not experts. More important are the level of ethics and integrity that comes along with the quote-unqoute profession hasn’t been firmly established and entrenched in the minds of those who’ve been given that license.
“Therefore, there’s a total disregard, a level of wrecklessness that ends up being a domino effect. And the people who suffer are the common viewers out there and, more importantly, those in the industry who haven’t been fortunate to get a radio or television deal and only rely on the written word. And now they’ve been sabotaged. Not because of me. Or like me. But because of the industry or the world has allowed the average joe to resemble a professional without any credentials whatsoever.”
Is this dude serious? The professionalism in the newspaper industry? If most of the people at most papers are trained, I can’t tell. If they paid for their training they should demand a refund.
Me asking if he’s serious is rhetorical. If I didn’t know Stephen A. I might think he was joking; but unfortunately this is his typical ass-hatery!
This type of self righteousness, eltist attitude, desire to control and limit information, and the scandolousness of the media is the reason Why America Hates the Press; and the way the trained professionals have shown themselves to be nothing more than corporate shills taking pay offs to twist or invent news.
People like Stephen A. and others in the main stream media are just up set because the bloggers, in whole, can’t be bought. Sure, individuals could be, but for every one blogger corperate America (or politicians ) goes and buys, there are a couple of dozen other bloggers checking that bought blogger; and they have the same, or at least the possibility of the same reach.
It means Stephen A. and his main stream cronnies are more and more losing their strangle hold on the dissimenation of information, and hence their ability to get paid, and losing some of their sense of self-appointed importance. Hell, we’re even taking their spots on television news talk shows to discuss issues a lot the time, and I’m sure they hate that. Professional, trained “writers” like Stephen A. Smith love nothing more than an opportunity to get in front of a camera.
He’s right though, we’re not trained:
1. We’re not trained to lie
2. We’re not trained corporate puppets compromising our reporting for big business’ profit agenda
3. We’re not trained to repeat the same handful of stories all day long to the exclusion of all else
4. We’re not trained to be the white house’s mouth piece in the false and fabricated drumbeat to war, or to promote its other agendas
5. We’re not trained to shuck all social responsibility for a dollar
6. We’re not trained to fudge our sources and fabricate stories
7. We’re not trained to ignore stories that are important to minority segments of our society and not just report those that the majority particularly relate to
8. We’re not trained to be lazy, so lazy that many mainstream publications don’t even bother to date their online articles much less do a decent job of reporting
9. We’re not trained to ignore missing people because of their race, looks, and socio-economic background
10. We’re not trained to put gimmick antics, on air personality, and looks of the report before news
11. We’re not trained to bump missing person’s stories for Paris Hilton stories
12. We’re not trained to design our reporting of the news around what will offend or benefit our sponsors
13. We’re not trained to be mistrusted by the majority of the public; making it necessary for the public to develop it’s own direct media
14. In short, we haven’t been trained in how to be shameless corporate shills
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