Helen Thomas: Bloggers Don’t Have the Standards and Ethics of Big Media Reporters

Patterico's Pontifications ^ | Jan. 06, 2008

[jdm]

This is almost too good. It’s the standard Big Media snobbishness about bloggers — coming in a quote from one of bloggers’ biggest punching bags, Helen Thomas:

“What I really worry about is that I think the bloggers and everyone, everyone with a laptop thinks they’re journalists,” Thomas said. “And, they certainly don’t have our standards. They don’t have our ethics, and so forth. There’s a deterioration.”

“[T]hey certainly don’t have our standards. They don’t have our ethics . . .” Well, she’s right about that.

Here’s one example.

On January 2, crab-grass blogger Dan Riehl wrote a post about a wide array of media outlets that got taken in by a phony Facebook entry for Bilawal Bhutto.

On January 3 — the next day — the L.A. Times’s Rosa Brooks published a column that quoted the phony entry:

And who knows? Maybe Bilawal’s not such a bad choice for the Pakistan People’s Party. A history student at Oxford, he already has a constituency — at least on Facebook, where someone has established a new fan group called “Let’s not assassinate Bilawal Bhutto because he’s hot, OK?” Bilawal’s own Facebook profile is fairly modest: “I am not a politician or a great thinker. I’m merely a student. I do the things that students do like make mistakes, eat junk food … but most importantly of all … learn.” Still, “My time to lead will come.”

The L.A. Times has since issued a “For the Record” item that states:

Pakistan: Rosa Brooks’ Thursday column about political dynasties cited a quote from Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Facebook profile. Facebook has since found the entries to be “not authentic” and disabled them.

This papers over the fact that the writing was on the wall the night before Brooks’s column ran. At 7:59 p.m., a New York Times blog quoted a Facebook associate warning that the account had been set up by someone else — and blogger Riehl had picked up on it by 11:03 p.m. But dinosaur Big Media columnist Brooks still had a column printed the next day quoting the phony entry.

If Rosa Brooks had bloggers’ standards, I guess the L.A. Times wouldn’t have had to issue that correction.

But Helen Thomas is right. We don’t have their standards.

(Via Michelle.)

[jdm]

"Bloggers Don’t Have the Standards and Ethics of Big Media Reporters ... Like Me!"

[ECM]

Thank God.

[RichInOC]

Helen has standards? Who knew?

[bigbob]

nor the dashing good looks....

[kinsman redeemer]

How about that?!

[bmwcyle]

Bloggers are not old washed up wind bags.

[rdl6989]

Helen Thomas has ethics?

[the invisib1e hand]

did you have to post that?

[DogandPonyShow]

In the words of the immortal Jerry Seinfeld whilst stealing the marble rye:

“SHUT UP YA OLD BAG!”

[domenad]

As long as we’re discussing standards, I understand the Thomas has become the SI unit of Ugly. The English system is still using the Sandra Bernhard.

[tips up]

She is quite correct, although not in the way she thinks.

[San Jacinto]

She thinks she is a journalist? She needs a shrink.

[HardStarboard]

That's right Helen; not the standards, the ethics or the agenda.

[centurion316]

I have long contended that journalists are ignorant, biased, and lazy. I should add to that description: completely lacking an ethical foundation.

Good thing that bloggers don’t measure up to this standard, they wouldn’t last long if they did.

[Chode]

[kinoxi]

I pity the mirror that told her those lies.

[ConservativeMind]

There are no standards for being a journalist. There is no licensing or anything required to call oneself a journalist.

So, until they can come up with a licensing standard (something that could provably be revoked if the person was found to be biased), then I would put my trust in the places I think serve the public good with better intent and accuracy.

I’ll choose the more reliable of the internet sources over her, any day.

[Sherman Logan]

Post an inaccuracy on FR and you’re likely to get nailed on it in less than 5 minutes.

I’ve been involved on both sides of this. My inaccuracies were not intentional, but it is very helpful to be corrected so quickly.

[KTM rider]

ROTFLMAO

[John123]

They don’t have our ethics, and so forth

I don't think Helen is aware of FreeRepublic. We have been exposing biased and sloppy journalism for years.

[KC_Conspirator]

Helen is nothing but a leftwing hack, an agent of the DNC.

[Brilliant]

You really can’t expect faceless bloggers to have good looks. So it’s entirely understandable that famous national journalistic personalities like Helen would have a monopoly on good looks.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"Everything's going down the DRAIN !

[StarCMC]

“What I really worry about is that I think the bloggers and everyone, everyone with a laptop thinks they’re journalists,” Thomas said. “And, they certainly don’t have our standards. They don’t have our ethics, and so forth. There’s a deterioration.”

Hey Helen, bite me. What a JOKE.

[sionnsar]

Helen Thomas: Bloggers Don’t Have the Standards and Ethics of Big Media Reporters

This is a good thing. No direction but UP!

[StarCMC]

Sheesh — you know, you need to put a warning in the title of the thread if you’re gonna post that picture! You about gave me a heart attack!

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

[RightWingConspirator]

Good lord! I’ve seen Halloween masks that were less frightening!

[Alouette]

I understand the Thomas has become the SI unit of Ugly. The English system is still using the Sandra Bernhard.

This is the Israeli standard, the Shulami

DISCLAIMER: Alouette is not responsible for keyboard, mouse or monitor damage due to uncontrollable projectile vomiting from clicking above link.

[Amelia]

We don’t have Helen’s good looks either.

[SuziQ]

HA HA HA HA HA HA! Is she series?

[RightWingConspirator]

About 90% of the people in the media that call themselves “journalists” are leftwing hacks and agents of the DNC.

[DogandPonyShow]

LOL!

Bravo my friend!

[jazusamo]

ROFLOL!!

Thomas is a senile old bag!

[oldenuff2no]

She must be thinking about Dan Rather!!!!!

[stayathomemom]

I finished reading To Set the Record Straight 15 minutes ago. If any book will open your eyes to the ethics of Big Media reporters and their editors, this one will, and I have read Bias.

[Farnham]

Great idea !!

Are you familiar with the concept of “fair witness” as described in “Stranger in a Strange Land”?.

[DogandPonyShow]

Thomas is sooooo ugly that once she stuck her head out the car window and got arrested for mooning.

[highlander_UW]

She’s 100% correct...bloggers have MUCH HIGHER standards and ethics than Big Media Reporters.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

Helen Thomas: Bloggers Don’t Have the Standards and Ethics of Big Media Reporters

This lump of breathing foreskin cheese is about as useful as well, foreskin cheese.

[DogandPonyShow]

Stop...you’re killin’ meeee!!! LOL!

[beans36]

“What I really worry about is that I think the bloggers and everyone, everyone with a laptop thinks they’re journalists,” Thomas said. “And, they certainly don’t have our standards. They don’t have our ethics, and so forth. There’s a deterioration.”

Are you sure this wasn't written by Jayson Blair or Dan Rather?

[Wiser now]

She’s right.
Our standards and ethics are mucher higher than theirs.

[The_Reader_David]

“And, they certainly don’t have our standards. They don’t have our ethics. . .

They don't have the code of omerto either.

Not having the standards or ethics of a corrupt group, be it the MSM or the Mafia strikes me as a good thing.

[dalereed]

“Bloggers Don’t Have the Standards and Ethics of Big Media Reporters ... Like Me!”

Meaning that they haven’t been properly schooled in lying, distortions, and deceit.

[lonestar]

“[T]hey certainly don’t have our standards. They don’t have our ethics . . .”

Or looks!

[Enterprise]

Yer killin’ me Helen. You aren’t by any chance trying to get a job as a comedy writer are you?

[leprechaun9]

Thomas said. “And, they certainly don’t have our standards. They don’t have our ethics, and so forth. There’s a deterioration.”

You can't deteriorate from a level of ZERO!

[Ken522]

... a face that only a mother could love!

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

That’s it, I’m hitting the abuse button.