Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ish who wrote (12146)	10/13/2003 7:32:05 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793888

Reader Advocate: Private rules spell trouble for journalists Connie Coyne READER ADVOCATE - SALT LAKE CITY TRIBUNE Many journalists operate according to two sets of rules: The public ones they espouse through such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists and the private ones they cobble together in newsrooms and hold secret in their hearts. It's the second group that tends to get them into trouble. And this business of Arnold Schwarzenegger winning the governorship of California (Kal-eeee-forn-ya) apparently has broken some of these secret rules. Suddenly, journalists are writing stories -- such as one by Sharon Waxman, a Washington Post staff writer on Thursday -- accusing Jay Leno of breaking journalistic rules. Leno's introduction of the Terminator as the winner of the Left Coast combination recall-new-governor election at Schwarzenegger's post-victory party "was another small step into the murky marshland of celebrity and serious politics, of entertainment and information, a dark, mysterious place from which strange mutant creatures may someday emerge. Or maybe not," Waxman wrote. This situation of Leno acting as what he seems to be -- a stand-up comedian -- got Waxman into such a tizzy that she continued, "Should all this make us uncomfortable? What is Leno in this instance? A talk show host? A facilitator? Or a political impresario?" What is in this woman's coffee? Leno is the host of a late-night TV show. He brings celebrities on the show to entertain folks who are watching the hour through their toes as they wait to drift off to dreamland. He usually softballs questions to his guests, although he did get Hugh Grant to admit how stupid he was to get caught with a hooker in Hollywood. In LA Weekly, an alternative paper that disses and nips at the heels of mainstream media in Hollywood, columnist Nikki Finke wrote, ". . . America expects its late-night comedians to be evenhanded when it comes to political humor. These hosts don't invade bedrooms around the country; they're invited. And if even the faintest whiff of unfairness taints their jokes, it's time for viewers to reach for the remote and change the channel." Accusing Leno of leaning right in his monologues, Finke added, "Whether Leno continues this partisan attitude as the 2004 presidential race heats up, and the candidates' talk-show appearances become increasingly crucial, remains to be seen. But the last 'Tonight Show' host who went too far by intermingling politics and entertainment was Jack Paar -- remember his embracement of Castro and friendship with the Kennedys? -- and his late-night reign ended with his own recall." As I recall, Paar left the show because NBC would not allow him to tell a "water closet" joke that was really about a toilet. He apparently got tired of fighting the censors (standards and practices people) at NBC. Even the folks at the American Journalism Review have editorialized on this topic. In the latest issue, a story outlines those politicians who have successfully avoided print journalists and taken their ideas to the people through TV. The words used to describe this tactic include "outrage," "afraid" and "flabbergasted." The kernel of truth, however, comes toward the end of the AJR article when author Rachel Smolkin discusses the agility with which Attorney General John Ashcroft and President George W. Bush handle their press availability: "But Ashcroft and the Bush administration have effectively controlled the media -- and limited their access. And some politicians don't lose much by ignoring the press, a reality that constrains even dogged reporters." Get over it. Nowhere in the Constitution does it demand that politicians talk to print journalists. If news people -- including both print and TV reporters -- are unhappy with the access they have, then they need to start pounding the pavement and doing their jobs again. At this point, many of them are upset over Ah-nuld's victory. It seems they failed to understand that no matter how inept they thought Schwarzenegger to be, they forget they were dealing with a man who apparently has never failed to meet a goal he set for himself. A free and vigorous press cannot afford to have secret rules and judge people by them. Politicians will never come clean to a press that feels some sense of entitlement. Journalism is and should be a hard job; developing sources and getting them to talk about important issues takes much more effort than announcing your name and the paper you work for. Just a suggestion: If political reporters cannot get answers from entertainers turned politicos, why don't they team up with the entertainment reporters and see if that breaks through the barrier? sltrib.com