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

Thu Jun 14 01:01:53 CDT 2007

Again, I don't know the situation re Brian Dolinar and Capt Finney, so I was just agreeing that yes, members of the press should behave professionally during press conferences. That being said, terms like "unprofessional" (and enemy combatant) are unspecific enough that they can be used to deny basic rights. Since that apparently is NOT the case here, what can be done so that alternative publications like the Public i can attend press conferences?

  BTW, White House press conferences are managed (if not scripted) and only those who (generally) ask the right (and I do mean right) questions are called on (think NOT Helen Thomas), tho' when things get really awful, hard questions are indeed asked (asked, not answered. Think Snow job).

  I caught local Fox News at  Nine tonite (Ch 27/11 in our area), and there was a lengthy story early in the program about Carle's and Christi'e's denial of treatment for medicaid patients, AND their denial of denial of treatment for medicaid patients. Talk about holding feet to the fire! It was great to hear. 

  Jenifer

Marti <tvchick at insightbb.com> wrote:
  Having seen some of the video excerpts of city council meetings the mayor
has, more than once, interrupted people who have attended to address the
council. Perhaps we should tell the mayor that he should be seen and not
heard. The one where I did see BD interject was when he was at the podium
and the mayor cut in on what he was saying.

In all of the posts and emails that have been exchanged no one has been able
to offer evidence of unprofessional conduct at press conferences by writers
for the Public I. I asked Rene Dunn for the reasons why BD was asked to
leave, she politely declined to discuss the matter, and I respected her
wishes. 

There is a viable need for alternative media. Particularly since mass media
has been increasingly subject to ownership by corporations which has
significantly lowered the bar for what is considered to be news. The 
News-Gazette has a local monopoly on the media with the ownership of the
newspaper and WDWS/WHMS. Even the local TV affiliates are part of larger
conglomerates and corporate politics has had a corrosive impact on news
coverage. In a time span of less than 30 years we've gone from Katherine
Graham to Rupert Murdoch. It's this type of climate that makes the antics of
Paris Hilton and the late Anna Nicole Smith 'newsworthy'.

The one advantage we have with citizen journalists is the fact that they are
encouraged to articulate how our public officials and public servants have
an impact on individuals and neighborhoods. The only way a story like
Watergate could break today would be through independent media outlets that
do not conform to the corporate culture.

Peace, Marti

-----Original Message-----
From: peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net
[mailto:peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of Wendy Edwards
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 8:33 PM
To: Jenifer Cartwright
Cc: briandolinar at gmail.com; peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Re: IMC reporter kicked out of CPD briefing

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 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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> 
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