This is not journalism

[Eliseu Gouveia]

I´ve been severely cutting down on my CNN diet over the years.

Tha latest straw was a piece they aired just a few minutes ago.
The reporter was following this pakhistani anti-taliban demonstration.
in an age where the louddest muslim voices to reach prime time TV are usually fundamentalist, I was utterly fascinated to hear the everyman, the intelectuals, the women, the young and old protesting against the advance of the taliban.

And instead what do they do?
They shift the camera around to focus on the reporter and his adventure, the things he had to go to film the report.
WTF?

YOU ARE NOT THE NEWS!
You´re just a reporter. You are there to report the news, not yourself.

I don´t care about the spectacle of journalism, I care about the journalism itself.

[Joshua Pantalleresco]

The news has been an entertaining piece of fiction for years now. There hasn't been real news on the idiot box for years. Mostly, it's just news that wants to be entertainment.

Sad but true.

JP

[section 8]

I´ve been severely cutting down on my CNN diet over the years.

Tha latest straw was a piece they aired just a few minutes ago.
The reporter was following this pakhistani anti-taliban demonstration.
in an age where the louddest muslim voices to reach prime time TV are usually fundamentalist, I was utterly fascinated to hear the everyman, the intelectuals, the women, the young and old protesting against the advance of the taliban.

And instead what do they do?
They shift the camera around to focus on the reporter and his adventure, the things he had to go to film the report.
WTF?

YOU ARE NOT THE NEWS!
You´re just a reporter. You are there to report the news, not yourself.

I don´t care about the spectacle of journalism, I care about the journalism itself.

Have you never heard of "Gonzo Journalism?"

My question: Was the Journalist actively taking part? or just taking the spotlight?

[OzBat!]

Was it presented as a news item, or more of an information report piece? 'Cause the latter I've seen for decades showing what the reporter went through to get to a region; reactions to the journalist and contrasts in culture make up as much of the flavour of the piece as the events that triggered the trip in the first place.

[Tyr]

Of course this isn't journalism, silly.

Its a thread on a web forum...

Sorry, couldn't help myself. :biggrin:

[Tetsuo_man]

For some reason I thought this had to do with the whole CNN Obama Swagga thing cuz that was embarassing.

[Nick Soapdish]

The Daily Show has done that a few times. But they know that it's absolutely ridiculous and the "journalist" plays up taking over their own story.

[sweetdreams]

wow! if ever there were a warning against ambien.
Sorry about that. man that sucks.

[Alan Lynch]

It is disappointingly hard to find decent news these days. The BBC can be quite good, but mostly on foreign matters. Their domestic coverage - I find - is about as bad as everyone else's. Except Sky. Nobody does crap news like Sky.

[Infra-Man]

I´ve been severely cutting down on my CNN diet over the years.

Tha latest straw was a piece they aired just a few minutes ago.
The reporter was following this pakhistani anti-taliban demonstration.
in an age where the louddest muslim voices to reach prime time TV are usually fundamentalist, I was utterly fascinated to hear the everyman, the intelectuals, the women, the young and old protesting against the advance of the taliban.

And instead what do they do?
They shift the camera around to focus on the reporter and his adventure, the things he had to go to film the report.
WTF?

YOU ARE NOT THE NEWS!
You´re just a reporter. You are there to report the news, not yourself.

I don´t care about the spectacle of journalism, I care about the journalism itself.

I remember that being one of my problems with some of Anderson Cooper's field report videos (not the live feed but the produced and edited ones) when I used to watch CNN regularly (maybe four or five years ago)--he'd sometimes inject himself into the coverage a little too much. I don't know if that was his MO on Channel One, but I wasn't really into it.

Many crappy documentaries suffer from the same thing; it becomes more about the filmmaker or the process than the subject matter. There are exceptions, though (Tarnation).

[Sean Walsh]

Here's another one to add to the pile of "this is not journalism":

"Mr. President, what in your first 100 days has surprised you.....enchanted you......trouble you......and humbled you....?"

Really, NYTimes? And you're surprised readership is low and the future of the paper is in considerable doubt?


in an age where the louddest muslim voices to reach prime time TV are usually fundamentalist, I was utterly fascinated to hear the everyman, the intelectuals, the women, the young and old protesting against the advance of the taliban.

I'm assuming/hoping you mean "utterly fascinated" by the fact they got coverage on TV.....

It's my understanding that the vast majority of voices in the Middle East, which are usually shouted down by their leaders and greatly muted to the media, has long shared the kind of distrust and downright hatred the pro-American crowd holds for folks like the Taliban and the Iranian leaders....

[Cam63]

I love professional journalists who act as such.

[Typo Lad]

I love professional journalists who act as such.
So....that'd be who, exactly?