As I was watching this video of what appears to be three undercover police officers trying to instigate violence at a peaceful demonstration in Montebello, Quebec, I was reminded of the recent rantbait op-ed by journalism professor Michael Skube published in the Los Angeles Times. The headline was "Blogs: All the noise that fits" and Skube wrote:
Bloggers now are everywhere among us, and no one asks if we don't need
more full-throated advocacy on the Internet. The blogosphere is the
loudest corner of the Internet, noisy with disputation, manifesto-like
postings and an unbecoming hatred of enemies real and imagined.
He argues that bloggers are for the most part a bunch of partisan amateurs flailing away at each and lowering public discourse in the process. He also believes bloggers do little to no real reporting. It's up to journalists to save the day!
I'm a journalist and I'm getting really tired of hearing other journalists talk as if we need to save journalism from the public. As if non-journalism school people can't do reporting, shouldn't do reporting. It's insulting and arrogant.
For many years, the church and governments sought to restrict access to printing presses for fear of what people might publish. Now people like Skube are trying to shut up blogs because they fear what people will say. He fears that journalism will no longer be the sacred haunt of those who go to journalism school, or work at some form of established news outlet. Back off, amateur. Show me your press pass.
I went to journalism school, but anyone who thinks that's the only way to be a journalist (either full-time or part-time) is crazy. And anyone who thinks they can talk about the so-called "blogosphere" or bloggers as one homogeneous entity is fooling themselves. Jay Rosen has already created a list of examples that show some blogs are doing great reporting, and he published a reply in the Times. Josh Marshall also highlighted Skube's unprofessionalism.
But back to that video. The reason it made me think of Skube's op-ed is because he's really no different than those morons in the video. One of the fake protesters is holding a rock, and they are trying to instigate a riot. Fortunately, a union leader steps in and prevents the provocateurs. But Skube managed to throw his rock. The Times let him do it.
We shouldn't seek to silence him; that's his game. But let's see him for what he is: an agent provocateur.