Kitteh Reporter

[melindadansky]

A while ago, Mommy went to conference where marketing mans in charge of newspaper say to crowded room of people: "hai! We use statistics to sellz newz. We want understand customers who haz monies. Then we write stories they wantz." Mommy say "That ethical?" Mans from newspaper say "We not God. Not our job to decide what best for everybodies.

Comments

[andelku]

Tika is right.

Me and one of other former reporters in my office (the one who was included in the Times-Picayune's Pulitzer for the coverage of Katrina) had a bonding session over how the Rolling Stone guy's behavior on McCrystal's bus trip, while technically correct, bordered on unethical. The guy was drunk and mouthing off. There is a war on. And RS decided to print a cheesy gotcha story that will have real-world consequences in the field ... but it is the sort of story their (chickenhawk) readers want.

We then reflected upon the fact that there is a reason we both work in e-learning now.

[andelku]

It was on the record because he did not say it was not. It was correct. Technically it was ethical.In a rules-lawyery kind of way there is nothing wrong with what RS did.

But what kind of news judgment was being exercised here? How important is it that McCrystal got drunk and talked crap about political figures on a bus?

That's a deeper ethical question. One that every US news source has been falling down on most of the time since around the Monica Lewinsky scandal (IMHO.) What is the role of the press in society really? What is news itself? Is it about issues or about personalities?

The RS reporter has probably made his career by printing McCrystal's drunken stuck on a bus remarks. He'll probably get a book deal out of it and everything. It's not what I or my Pulitzer-holding colleague would have done.

This is why neither of us works in the news business anymore.

[melindadansky]

Tika is primarily concerned with the acquisition of treats and skritches and how things affect her. In other words: she's an ideal political blogger.

Toby would probably do just as well.

[badger]

XKCD agrees with Tika (especially the text popop when mousing over the image).

[melindadansky]

Oh, that's awesome.

[kuroshii]

...they rather read what kittehs type while waiting for treets instead of ur news that not news and not written by people good at news.

this is me, tika...this is me.

::squishes treets for tika thru internet tubes::

[melindadansky]

Tika say: PURRRRRR!