[Peace-discuss] Re: IMC reporter kicked out of CPD briefing

[Wendy Edwards]

First, I'm not presuming to speak for Finney.  I only said that it
sounded like he might be willing to consider admitting reporters 
from alternative publications.

Second, the specific behavior that I was referring to wasn't related
to asking uncomfortable questions - it was about interrupting the
mayor as he was addressing someone else.

Here's an interesting blog post about press credentials and 
gatekeeping: 
http://www.drudgeblog.com/archives/2005/06/16/keyholders-and-gatekeepers/

The final paragraph sums it up well:

If "citizen journalists" act like kindergarteners, they're going to be
treated like kindergarteners - seen and not heard, talked down to, shut
out of the grownups' room, not trusted to handle themselves around the
big kids. And like my kindergarten teacher would say, "you boys are
going to stay outside until you can be good citizens!"

Wendy

On Tue, Jun 12, 2007 at 02:46:06PM -0700, Jenifer Cartwright wrote:

> Thanks for the background info, Wendy. I noticed that Brian wrote, "kicked out of" instead of "denied access to" which is why I ended my first email on the subject by saying that police officers are innocent until proven guilty...
>    
>   While it may be in fact be a question of professional behavior in Brian's case -- I'm in no position to say -- that's an excuse that could be used to deny access to anyone who might ask uncomfortable questions.
>    
>   Since we all -- including Finney -- agree that alternative publications should have access, how do we ensure that this happens in the future?
>    
>   Jenifer
>    
>    
>   
> Wendy Edwards <wedwards at uiuc.edu> wrote:
>   Actually, I don't think that it would be right for Finney to deny
> press credentials because a newpaper or blog expressed opinions
> that were different than his. So by that token, I believe that 
> reporters from Public i and the OBO should be admitted to press
> conferences.
> 
> However, I do believe that Finney and other public officials have
> the right to insist on professional behavior from all reporters at
> a press conference, regardless of affiliation. I talked briefly with
> Finney about the situation, and he confirmed that this had been the
> issue with Brian. It sounded like Finney would have been willing to
> admit citizen journalists and bloggers as long as there was no history
> of inappropriate behavior.
> 
> Wendy
> 
> On Tue, Jun 12, 2007 at 12:45:55AM +0000, Robert Dunn wrote:
> 
> 
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