« Why We Fought the Revolution | Main | Ooh! Pick Me! Pick Me! »
March 01, 2007
Washed-Up Hack Urges Media "Aggression"
Sure, the post title is harsh. But I'm really, really tired of watching Bob Woodward still riding the Watergate wave.
Bob Woodward, the US journalist who helped break the Watergate scandal, called Wednesday on reporters to take more time on stories after the US media's handling of the run-up to the Iraq war.As I've said before, my undergraduate degree is in journalism, and most of my professors were evangelistic about the near-deity of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. They were and are journalism's secular saints - the two who can do no wrong and whose halos will never be tarnished.The celebrated Washington Post reporter said the media should have done more to verify whether Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had secret weapons as alleged by US President George W. Bush as a reason to go to war.
"We should have been much more aggressive," Woodward told a conference in Tokyo.
That would have been true if the two had simply stopped being journalists after their Watergate reporting. Bernstein, for the most part, did just that. Woodward, however, made the unfortunate decision to continue reporting. His books are embarrassments of minutae. Reading a Woodward book is like being in a confessional - it's almost as though Woodward believes that including every detail he found in an interview process somehow atones for the journalistic sins he committed reporting on Watergate.
Woodward and Bernstein's stories on Watergate are terrible reporting, full of thin or anonymous sourcing. There's a clear connection between W&B's reporting and the neo-muckraking journalism of today. W&B made it easy for anyone who wants to dish dirt on a political figure to do so, as long as they hide behind titles like "a senior administration official," or "someone close to the intelligence community."
Anonymous sourcing is turning journalism from an honest attempt to get at the truth to a shooting gallery in which disgruntled cowards use access and information as a weapon. Woodward is not completely to blame, but he shoulders some of it, and should not be as proud as he is of his role in journalism history.
Posted by slublog at March 1, 2007 12:10 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.slublog.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2953
Comments
Boa noite pessoal, verdadeiramente manter um automóvel é difícil devido ao da verdadeira pilantragem de algumas empresas como as de financiamento. Estas nem sempre cumprem ao contrato firmado ou tem embutidas em letras ilegíveis regras que não beneficiam ao comprador do carro. O Código do Consumidor muitas vezes não comtempla todas as deveres do consumidor. Estava lendo umas experiências no http://www.carrousado.org sobre todos os cuidados para a compra sem ter dor de cabeça depois. Foi mal, realmente está difícil fazer boas compras.
Posted by: jogos para meninas gratis at December 6, 2010 12:22 PM
Amazing freakin blog here. I almost cried while reading it!
Posted by: Backlinks at December 8, 2010 01:43 PM
I truly appreciate this article post.Much thanks again. Really Great.
Posted by: seminovos unidas campinas at February 2, 2011 02:26 PM
Boa tarde galera, realmente ter um carro é oneroso devido ao encarecimento de algumas empresas como as de financiamento. Estas nem sempre cumprem ao contrato feito ou tem embutidas em letras ilegíveis deveres que não beneficiam ao comprador do veículo. O Código do Consumidor muitas vezes não protege todas as artimanhas do comprador. Estava lendo umas dicas no http://www.carrousado.org sobre todos os cuidados para a compra sem ter dor de cabeça no final. Foi mal, realmente está difícil fazer bons negócios.
Posted by: yamaha viamar at February 3, 2011 01:36 PM
olá amigos, com certeza mandar um torpedo grátis está cada vez mais difícil devido a restrição das operadoras de celular. Há ainda os websites que prometem entregar meu torpedo mas quase nunca chegam recepiente final. Alguns como o Mundo oi e o Oi Torpedo funcionam mas e para as outras operadoras? E os que prometem que mandam e nada chega. Para onde está indo as as minhas menssagens? E para a Tim, Vivo? Alguma Idéia? Ou significa ter de comprar?. É só um desabafo, realmente está difícil achar dicas para mandar torpedos de graça.
Posted by: mensagem grátis at February 14, 2011 07:57 PM
I'm typically to blogging and i actually respect your content. The article has really peaks my interest. I'm going to bookmark your web site and keep checking for brand spanking new information. http://www.cupomdescontao.com.br/
Posted by: cupom compra facil at March 11, 2011 10:58 AM