War is Peace - Freedom is Slavery - Ignorance is Strength

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Journalistic Priviledge

Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch-all for fuckoffs and misfits— a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy piss-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but just deep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate like a chimp in a zoo-cage.
The recent refusal of the Supreme Court to hear the Miller/Cooper appeal has once again forced the debate over whether or not journalists deserve special constitutional privilege into center stage, and unsurprisingly, journalists are eager to shine the spotlight on this question.

Surprising to some may be that I wholeheartedly support citing these journalists with contempt, and I truly believe that journalists should enjoy no special privilege or immunity whatsoever from being compelled to reveal sources in grand jury testimony, or in trials where no reasonable Fifth Amendment right can be claimed.

At the core of my opinion is my belief that secrecy always serves deceit. Whether in government, business, or personal affairs, the desire for secrecy almost always arises from a desire to gain advantage over someone else by controlling the information available to them, and thus causing them to make decisions and take actions that they would not take if they were aware of the information being withheld from them.

Journalists - and governments, and everyone else, for that matter - justify this deceit by claiming that it serves the greater good (or lesser evil).

Ironically, just as this case was being decided, the identity of "deep throat," the ultimate example of an anonymous source whose revelations benefited the public at large, was finally revealed. What came as a shock, and really shouldn't have, was that his motivations were purely selfish, and that his contact with the press was motivated not by an altruistic sense duty to his nation, but a thirst for revenge against the individuals and organization that he felt had slighted him.

At the end of the day, I believe that there are more than enough good people, who are willing to stand up and tell the truth regardless of the consequences, to keep journalists supplied with all the information they need to keep the public well informed. On the other hand, providing a guarantee of secrecy to those who divulge closely held information only encourages cowards to exploit their privileged positions for personal gain.

While there may be a few isolated cases where personal deceits do result in greater public goods that does not change the basic fact that wrong is wrong, and in sum, foul deeds inevitably result in pain and harm.

Comments:
I'm very surprised. I can understand your point, but I think a greater purpose is served by allowing sources to remain anonymous; admittedly lower and devious purposes are also probably served but the truth is I would rather know the dirty details even if getting them means someone profits from it.

If it were possible I would say I'm more cynical than you(;)) because I'm not confident that good people will always come forward when there is a need.-despite this,I also have a problem with giving journalists more "powers" if you will than the general population, but I don't see a particularly good alternative. The general public doesn't seem particularly well informed as it is.
 
"I think a greater purpose is served by allowing sources to remain anonymous"

Your word choice here raises an interesting point. There is a big difference between an anonymous source, and an unnamed source.

One could argue that any person with a legitimate desire to do the right thing, and still protect themselves, can easily do that by remaining anonymous.

One of the reasons that my opinions on this matter may seem out of line with many of the other positions, is that they are based more observation than theory.

The American Media is a cesspool of shit. At least anecdotally, it would seem that the use of unnamed sources is used far more frequently as a vehicle for the dissemination of government propaganda than it is for the exposure of secret misdeeds.

Given that the American Media have used their unique status in this way, I find it hard to agree that they should continue to enjoy an impunity that, on the whole, does more to protect the corrupt and powerful than it does to expose them to public scrutiny.
 
I suppose it depends on your perspective, personally, I think the owners of media are responsible for... how would it be politely termed?... the "fall" of good journalism? The fact that media is being conglommerated into fewer and fewer hands makes for a definite slant on the material that is put out. Because of this, I don't want to punish journalists who are attempting to get at the truth(which truthfully punishes me, as a person who likes to be as well informed as possible) because their bosses are chummy with the current administration.
The remedy for the media situation seems to me to be laws prohibiting the single party ownership of media empires- some sort of legislation to combat the conglomeration of all of the media companies; I don't know what form this legislation could take but the media needs to be in as many hands as possible. Internet media is a good start, but I don't think it's enough.
 
""I think a greater purpose is served by allowing sources to remain anonymous"
Your word choice here raises an interesting point. There is a big difference between an anonymous source, and an unnamed source.
One could argue that any person with a legitimate desire to do the right thing, and still protect themselves, can easily do that by remaining anonymous. "

(another anonymous says)
I find your distinction between an anonymous and an unnamed source interesting. you say that the govt. uses 'unnamed' sources to disseminate propaganda. agreed.

however, what's to say 'anonymous' sources won't be fantasists, revenge freaks or old-fashioned crack monkeys? surely it's better that the journalist know exactly where the info is coming from, so they can at least have a shot at judging the probable accuracy/objectivity of the informant?
 
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