"To some degree they have achieved what Tim Russert of NBC News had when he was host of Meet the Press. Sitting down for an interview with Swisher and Mossberg is a thing you do to show that you are a serious player..."
A post that arises from a certain image I have of disaffected newsroom "traditionalists," who look upon changes in journalism since the rise of the web with fear and loathing. It is not addressed to particular people but to a climate of mind I've encountered a lot in blogging about all this since 2003.
Romney's chief strategist Stu Stevens is trying to re-litigate a campaign ad suggesting that Jeep was shipping factory jobs to China. Why? I speculate.
The outlines of the new system are now coming into view. Accuracy and verification, fairness and intellectual honesty--traditional virtues for sure--join up with transparency, “show your work,” the re-voicing of individual journalists, fact-checking, calling BS when needed and avoiding false balance.
PRESSTHINK is a project of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. It is written and edited by professor Jay Rosen, who has taught at NYU since 1986. The blog is about the fate of the press in a digital era and the challenges involved in rethinking what journalism is today. It presents essays, press criticism, interviews and speeches. PressThink does not accept advertising.