The Fox News texts about Jan. 6 are a low moment for journalists

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Some of the people accused of crimes for entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 have a novel defense. They claim to be journalists.

Shawn Witzemann, a plumber from Farmington, New Mexico, has been charged by the FBI, but contends that his nightly “Armenian Council for Truth in Journalism” program on YouTube should exempt him from prosecution.

Nice try, but journalists are citizens like the rest of us, subject to the same criminal laws. If a police officer tells you not to enter a building and you proceed, “I’m here to watch” is not a defense.

Journalists have an ethical obligation to report the story, and not participate in it. It’s hard to know what Witzemann was thinking when he walked into the Capitol, but it’s pretty clear who his role models were.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fox-news-texts-jan-6-110056380.html

[empedocles]

1. Great moment for investigators and prosecutors

[Downtown Hound]

2. Couldn't help but be struck by this

"The real outrage here is an alleged news organization actively trying to change the path and perception of American history, offering advice on damage control to the most powerful man in the world. Their actions were unethical and an abdication of traditional journalistic values."

Um, how is this anything new for Fox? I completely agree that this is an outrage, but perhaps an equal outrage is that there are members of the press who are only now beginning to realize that Fox does this. Most of the rest of us caught on about 20 years ago. And as big of a problem that Fox News is, perhaps an even bigger problem might be that so many of the so-called "good journalists" are just now waking up to this reality. I mean, am I angry at Fox for doing this? Of course I am, but it's what I expect from them because I haven't had my head shoved up my ass for 20 years.

What astonishes me is the fact that so many people are astonished.

[Aristus]

3. Why is it a low moment for journalists?

The FOX News bubbleheads aren't journalists.

[fwvinson]

4. Faux Nuuus is not a news organization.