Who are the real journalists?

[LanternWaste]

The death of Russert gave of another glorious opportunity to advertise to one and all that "he wasn't a real journalist". Which got me thinking, who are the real journalists?

Not the editorialists, not the talk-show hosts, not the entertainers-- but the journalists. Who are they and how do we define them?

Who are the individuals you can state with absolute conviction was a "journalist"?

[givemebackmycountry]

1. Greg Palast...

American born and bred.
Works for the BBC.
Can't get a job writing for a high school newspaper in this country.
Pretty much tells you all you need to know, don't you think?

[LanternWaste]

2. That's great. How do we define "real journalist"?

That's great. How do we define "real journalist"?

[laststeamtrain]

3. I. F. Stone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I._F._Stone

[LanternWaste]

4. Another good one. But how do we as a community define "real journalist"?

Another good one. But how do we as a community define "real journalist"?

[laststeamtrain]

10. Reports the facts 'without fear or favor'.

"Tell the truth & run like hell".

"Comfort the afflicted & afflict the comfortable."

"Print the news & raise hell."

All the cliches.

It's a profession. To me the classics are all about being a watchdog on Big Business & Big Government. To me the classic POV is the little guy against the big guys.

I'm not sure 'objective' journalism exists.

It (journalism) needs to be kept rigorously separate from Public Relations.

[Lex]

5. Christiane Amanpour. Bill Moyers.

Those are 2 I can think of right off the top.

[NashVegas]

6. Bill Moyers, Robert Fisk

Would both be a good place to start.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. here's a list I posted yesterday.

John Reed
Christiane Amanpour
Walter Cronkite
William Russell
Carl Bernstein
Edward R. Murrow
Bill Moyers
Dorothy Parker
Bob Woodward
I.F. Stone
W.E.B. DuBois
George Seldes
Emile Zola
Anna Politkovskaya
Mark Twain
William L. Shirer
Ryszard Kapuscinski

Add who you like but I, for one, don't think that Tim Russert belongs on that list.

[LanternWaste]

8. I suppose I didn't ask for the definition emphatically enough...

I'm wondering if there is a standard defintion that we can all agree on re" what a "real journalist" is. A broad definition that allows us to maintain integrity on who is, and who isn't a "real" journalist.

To me, the defitnion would be simple-- one who reports the news with as little conscious bias as possible. But mine is probably too broad as it would allow a lot more individuals to fit the defnition than I imagine most would be comfortable with.

[wurzel]

9. Seymour Hersch!

[Rosemary2205]

11. A "real" journalist

discovers ro uncovers actual facts of any important nature, reports those facts in context even if it means rehashing "old" facts to remind the public of the context. They let the facts write the story rather than create a story and support it with "facts".

I would say Bob Woodruff is emerging as one but he'll have to bolt ABC to get any real traction and I don't see that happening.

Christine Amanpour (sp) manages to succeed if CNN consents to give her enough on air time.

Other than that I can't think of any "on screen" folks on USA TV. I know some locals that are the real deal, but on the national level I don't see much.

Is Helen Thomas still in the mix?

[Cleita]

12. I can't think of any of the talking heads on broadcast or cable news that

qualify after Dan Rather got bumped off CBS. Of course in print media there are a lot of them, but even they have been marginalized by being pushed to writing on blogs and only certain magazines like "The Nation" and "Vanity Fair" will publish their work.

[arcadian]

13. John Pilger, Jeremy Scahill

n't

[kentuck]

14. Josh Marshall

for one.

[devilgrrl]

15. Amy Goodman

eom