Monday, August 28, 2006
NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS
The Boston Herald’s Jules Crittenden on the release of Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig and journalism in war zones:
My profession is an easy one to kick around. It isn’t brain surgery: going places, asking questions, taking pictures, writing it up, broadcasting it. There are some skills. There are some things you have to learn. But it isn’t hard for anyone, looking at what we do, to say, “I could do that.”
Nor is it difficult for anyone, looking at the mistakes we make or the assumptions and biases that color our reports, to say, “I could do that better. That guy’s an idiot.” Whether you work at the New York Times, CNN, the Boston Herald or the Fox News Channel, you are guaranteed to make someone angry almost every time you tap a key or open your mouth. It is part of the job. You will be reviled. You can never win.
There are some other things that go with the job.
Read on.