General Discussion

Igel

(37,548 posts)

14. Same for doctors. Lawyers. Geologists. UFOlogists.

Sat Sep 21, 2013, 05:57 PM

Sep 2013

I diagnosed and administered medications to my kid last week. Sadly, the government restricts my right to care for my own offspring by restricting what I can buy.

Similarly, there are laws curtailing freedom of information and speech. Granting special dispensation to some people to shelter those who ignore those laws is probably a bad idea given the overwhelming motive for profit and prestige, combined with sometimes megalomania and narcissism.

Better: Make the laws consistent and rational, instead of over broad, and allow other ways to accomplish much of what "journalists" claim to do as the 4th Estate instead of making them the fourth branch of government.

Otherwise, being a journalist is a job. Like being a landscaper, but without the need to be bonded. I mow my own grass--that's still not my profession.

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I AM A JOURNALIST. SO ARE YOU. [View all] WilliamPitt Sep 2013 OP

+1, K&R nt Zorra Sep 2013 #1

Thank you. woo me with science Sep 2013 #2

i stole this from you questionseverything Sep 2013 #92

Thanks. woo me with science Sep 2013 #100

Nonsense. Robb Sep 2013 #3

The right is universal. WilliamPitt Sep 2013 #4

That's the point. WE ARE ALL PLUMBERS. Robb Sep 2013 #9

I agree with the way Will put it. "freedom of the press" DirkGently Sep 2013 #110

Speech. Journalism is a form of speech. Robb Sep 2013 #123

So you'd nullify the meaning of "freedom of the press?" DirkGently Sep 2013 #124

They were acknowledging its emerging importance. Robb Sep 2013 #130

Not all forms of speech are equally protected. DirkGently Sep 2013 #131

You're interpreting what we "set out to make" Robb Sep 2013 #132

I'm interpreting specific Constitutional language to be intentional. DirkGently Sep 2013 #136

So the oppressed people in Iran or Syria or North Korea who film things with their phones and liberal_at_heart Sep 2013 #12

Plus a googleplex, squared Benton D Struckcheon Sep 2013 #32

The issue is not semantic. sulphurdunn Sep 2013 #46

Are "paid shills" journalists"? Is this person ProSense Sep 2013 #5

+++ Whisp Sep 2013 #10

I agree with this view. PowerToThePeople Sep 2013 #16

Isn't that the point of a legislature? muriel_volestrangler Sep 2013 #28

Extortion racket PowerToThePeople Sep 2013 #30

Apply a shield law to everyone, and the ability to investigate crimes is limited muriel_volestrangler Sep 2013 #31

It means purchasing your get out of jail free card, ie shield law. n/t PowerToThePeople Sep 2013 #33

I don't consider Niceguy1 Sep 2013 #102

Look at this Benton D Struckcheon Sep 2013 #41

When you post on the internet, you are publishing your thoughts, your message. JDPriestly Sep 2013 #54

Nonsense. ProSense Sep 2013 #55

Nonsense? Enthusiast Sep 2013 #58

Yes ... 1StrongBlackMan Sep 2013 #75

That used to be the case. JDPriestly Sep 2013 #79

You won't find a bigger shill than ProSense. Nuclear Unicorn Sep 2013 #76

Post removed Post removed Sep 2013 #78

"You do nothing but personal attacks." Nuclear Unicorn Sep 2013 #80

Like I said, some people are not journalists, just assholes. n/t ProSense Sep 2013 #81

I chortled. Nuclear Unicorn Sep 2013 #82

Being called an asshole by PS is a compliment mindwalker_i Sep 2013 #138

I'm an asshole! And a journalist:) grahamhgreen Sep 2013 #98

Depends. A lot of bloggers are journalists. JDPriestly Sep 2013 #65

Precisely. Enthusiast Sep 2013 #93

Yes, they are a journaliist, but that doesn't mean they are a reporter. I think a better shield ... Exilednight Sep 2013 #72

No ... 1StrongBlackMan Sep 2013 #73

Is this post covered? Nuclear Unicorn Sep 2013 #74

Of course. This has been adjudicated by the court. Fox News grahamhgreen Sep 2013 #96

+1 nt MADem Sep 2013 #135

To me the DiFi bill is the first step towards registration of journalists Taverner Sep 2013 #6

That's exactly what it is. LuvNewcastle Sep 2013 #18

Feinstein thinks we exist to SERVE HER 2banon Sep 2013 #56

I agree. Not a big leap? Fuck, dude, it's already here. Enthusiast Sep 2013 #61

That's exactly what it is. And Prosense is defending it. Enthusiast Sep 2013 #59

Amen, Brother !!! - K & R !!! WillyT Sep 2013 #7

And a damn good one! kentuck Sep 2013 #8

i'd call you a good published author and op-ed writer Will. dionysus Sep 2013 #11

I am a surgeon. PERIOD. Whisp Sep 2013 #13

You don't need special training to document facts. WilliamPitt Sep 2013 #17

"If you're bad at documenting facts, you'll be rejected from the profession ProSense Sep 2013 #27

No, what people believe is that the protection is right in the Constitution sabrina 1 Sep 2013 #95

so, what is your remedy contra O'Keefe? nashville_brook Sep 2013 #111

You do need special training in documenting facts. It's a fial to believe you will be .... Exilednight Sep 2013 #77

Special training AND corporate sponsorship Vanje Sep 2013 #125

Bullshit. Many Papers are owned by ..... Exilednight Sep 2013 #148

NYT! where you read Judith Miller's "reporting" Vanje Sep 2013 #150

Yes, I know about Judith MIller. Broken record. The Times is still better than .......... Exilednight Sep 2013 #151

One story Vanje Sep 2013 #152

You can say "fuck the NYT" all you want, but the reality is that without it, the overwhelming Exilednight Sep 2013 #155

Actually Vanje Sep 2013 #156

the same Guardian that's a traditional newspaper? And the same Democracy Now whose front page is Exilednight Sep 2013 #157

Hey Vanje Sep 2013 #153

When Stephen King makes a grammar error, hundreds of thousands of people do not die of it Vanje Sep 2013 #154

Utter bullshit! Enthusiast Sep 2013 #64

''I'm a patriot defending the very foundation of America.'' Whisp Sep 2013 #91

If the 1st amendment, or any other amendment, enumerated the right to saw bones, Warren Stupidity Sep 2013 #97

The 1st amendment is not about Journalism or newspapers. n/t Exilednight Sep 2013 #158

Sarcasm? Warren Stupidity Sep 2013 #160

Same for doctors. Lawyers. Geologists. UFOlogists. Igel Sep 2013 #14

Just watching a program about present day media in Afghanistan. Cleita Sep 2013 #15

Indeed, Will Oilwellian Sep 2013 #19

The word "journalist" appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution or Bill of Rights. Maedhros Sep 2013 #20

Citizen Journalist madamesilverspurs Sep 2013 #21

K & R for citizen reporting BelgianMadCow Sep 2013 #22

Not me my friend.. I am a commentator Peacetrain Sep 2013 #23

reporting for duty kpete Sep 2013 #24

A bill that would RESTRICT government action is being slammed as an assault on a free press. Absurd! Jim Lane Sep 2013 #25

Please refrain Summer Hathaway Sep 2013 #36

K&R X 100! COLGATE4 Sep 2013 #103

You contradict yourself Oilwellian Sep 2013 #43

No contradiction. There are two different applications of the concept of being "protected". Jim Lane Sep 2013 #45

So freedom of the press is ... GeorgeGist Sep 2013 #48

No, no, that is precisely wrong and what I took pains to deny! Jim Lane Sep 2013 #52

Freedeom of the press and freedom of speech are not the same. This is where people Exilednight Sep 2013 #159

+1 It bothered me that people thought journalists should be above treestar Sep 2013 #85

THANK YOU for injecting a breath of sanity COLGATE4 Sep 2013 #105

Choo Choo the Outrage Train Whisp Sep 2013 #112

Good luck with facts! Democat Sep 2013 #141

Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Sep 2013 #26

Empowering as always . orpupilofnature57 Sep 2013 #29

K & R tandot Sep 2013 #34

They want to DESTROY...."Citizen Journalism." More of the "Citizens United" ELITES KoKo Sep 2013 #35

Well, I imagine any of us would ask more questions than Chuck Todd-Blossom. calimary Sep 2013 #37

Kicketty. SalmonChantedEvening Sep 2013 #38

I get what you are saying, but... LuckyTheDog Sep 2013 #39

"The trend toward de-professionalizing my profession makes me feel under-valued and disrespected." WilliamPitt Sep 2013 #44

That's a broad brush you've got there LuckyTheDog Sep 2013 #140

kick n/t sabrina 1 Sep 2013 #40

Thank you for that Will Pitt Generic Other Sep 2013 #42

Welll said. K&R NealK Sep 2013 #47

I've been a journalist since at least 1996 Mosaic Sep 2013 #49

Here's an interesting case ProSense Sep 2013 #50

Yes Indeed! Crewleader Sep 2013 #51

Agreed. 99Forever Sep 2013 #53

Wooo hooo! Enthusiast Sep 2013 #57

I also see a creeping over reach that could happen Ichingcarpenter Sep 2013 #62

OK. But the real question is whether we want some shield law for journalists, and if we do -- struggle4progress Sep 2013 #60

I suspect the definition of journalism is not far off that famous one for pornography Fumesucker Sep 2013 #63

Not a shining beacon as guidance from SCOTUS struggle4progress Sep 2013 #66

These days I would definitely read it as snark Fumesucker Sep 2013 #67

Could be: his concurrence with the opinion there was a big nothing, almost content free struggle4progress Sep 2013 #68

Was Michener doing journalism when he wrote Tales of the South Pacific or The Source? Fumesucker Sep 2013 #69

Fictionalized accounts don't qualify as journalism. I have a friend, who wrote a great book struggle4progress Sep 2013 #70

I understand your point, but that's an ideological view of journalism WooWooWoo Sep 2013 #71

''If everybody is a journalist, then nobody is a journalist. And journalism ceases to exist.'' Whisp Sep 2013 #126

So the guys who filmed the Steubenville rape with their cell phones were journalists! geek tragedy Sep 2013 #83

He, the OP, believes ProSense Sep 2013 #84

Apparently, being homo sapiens is enough to be a journalist. Heck, maybe Lassie geek tragedy Sep 2013 #86

Seems more efficient, from the govt. censors position... bobduca Sep 2013 #87

I AM A CHEESE SANDWICH. SO ARE YOU. ElboRuum Sep 2013 #88

I'm a Pepper. Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too? PowerToThePeople Sep 2013 #89

Ooh, I just nostalgia-d real hard on that one... n/t ElboRuum Sep 2013 #90

I'm a writer, so are you. Argue with that, LOL grahamhgreen Sep 2013 #99

Writing does not make one a writer except in the most broad... ElboRuum Sep 2013 #119

In my view, words already have meanings, we don't get to redefine them based on our own grahamhgreen Sep 2013 #127

So what you're saying is... ElboRuum Sep 2013 #137

"I dunno, when I started writing really I was like, filling out applications and stuff, grahamhgreen Sep 2013 #143

I must take issue. ElboRuum Sep 2013 #145

Black forces at work on this thread. Journalist has been defined since 1693 grahamhgreen Sep 2013 #94

This. WilliamPitt Sep 2013 #101

Well, ProSense Sep 2013 #104

Being a journalist does not protect you from laws against fraud. grahamhgreen Sep 2013 #107

But it's supposed to protect you from illegally possessing classified documents? n/t sweetloukillbot Sep 2013 #114

Precisely. Uncle Joe Sep 2013 #116

Tinker, on the other hand, requires some tough credentialing. Gidney N Cloyd Sep 2013 #106

You don't have to be talented, you don't have to be paid,... gulliver Sep 2013 #108

Indeed! bvar22 Sep 2013 #109

Indeed not! Jim Lane Sep 2013 #113

Nice hedge, bvar22 Sep 2013 #117

The bill has been revised to meet your objection. Jim Lane Sep 2013 #121

Good link. Thanks Vanje Sep 2013 #128

You have to have some definition of who is covered by the law, though, lest you make a law that msanthrope Sep 2013 #147

Who decides if you're a "covered person"? Uncle Joe Sep 2013 #118

The bill includes a definition. Yes, it's interpreted and applied by a judge, subject to appeal. Jim Lane Sep 2013 #120

You make some good points. Uncle Joe Sep 2013 #134

Technically true, but are you a GOOD journalist? jazzimov Sep 2013 #115

The current bill does not define "journalist" Jim Lane Sep 2013 #122

We're All Journalists Now: The Transformation of the Press and Reshaping of the Law in the Internet Jefferson23 Sep 2013 #129

This message was self-deleted by its author leveymg Sep 2013 #133

We're all doctors, too. And attorneys! DevonRex Sep 2013 #139

I AM A DOCTOR AND SO ARE YOU! FSogol Sep 2013 #142

By FSM, you're right! KamaAina Sep 2013 #144

Um, no Boom Sound 416 Sep 2013 #146

The problem is that *actual* journalists are becoming an endangered species in the news media... YoungDemCA Sep 2013 #149