A Lesson for all Would-be Citizen Journalists
Now it’s all well and good, people posting rants and unsolicited opinions on blogs and all over the web. Bodies like the NUJ have been up in arms about anyone with an internet connection and a gripe passing themselves off as credible reporters – and it’s true that legit and ethical journalists are finding it as hard as anyone to earn a living by keeping down a job or earning commissions.
Anybody who heard the uncomfortable interview this morning (Saturday 10th November) on BBC Radio 4 with John Humphrys literally interrogating new DG George Entwistle might have squirmed and (like me) thought Humphrys to be an insufferable prig and over-the-top bully, but it does highlight very well the need for greater accountability among all would-be commentators. At the moment there is no accountability or regulation over this. The internet is arguably just too big to police. Nonetheless, the ethical requirements remain important.
It seems likely that soon, proper accountability for publishing will be enforced – either as a retrospective measure in cases of libel (and it IS libel when published) – or by a new, yet-to-be-invented cyber-algorithm.The good news is that security at many levels has become commoditized. Combined with the fact that people are becoming more aware of what is available in terms of hardware, software, behaviour and so forth, and so you don’t need to become some kind of urban guerrilla to take a few common-sense measures against being another victim.
But John Humphrys clearly was of the opinion that Entwistle remains responsible not just in a series of removes for the BBC’s output, but for the micro-management of everything the Beeb outputs. It’s an extreme point of view, and I think Humphrys is a waterboarding thug in the studio, but if it helps further the cause of ethical and accountable writing then it must surely be seen as an ultimate good.
Mustn’t it?