Professionalism of the Classic Media

In this article, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, attacks The Web as exhibiting an atmosphere as a

free-for-all that was "close to that of unpoliced conversation".

Do tell. News Flash for Dr. Williams: That is exactly what the www is and what it was designed to be. The www, except where tightly controlled by an oppressive government (China) aided and abetted by service providers (Microsoft), is as unpoliced as a casual conversation with neighbor Sean or neighborhood butcher Ian.

According to the article, "Dr. Williams wondered whether a balance could be struck between the professionalism of the classical media and the relative disorder of online communication." He then went on to expound on the many virtues of that classic media:

that there are "embarrassingly low levels of trust" in the profession and that claims about what is in the public interest need closer scrutiny.

and

He called for a "more realistic, less fevered" approach to stories by journalists and added: "There is a difference between exposing deceptions that sustain injustice and attacking confidentialities or privacies that in some sense protect the vulnerable."

and

He attacked the "high levels of adversarial and suspicious probing" that send the clear message that any kind of concealment means "guilty until proved innocent", and he challenged journalists and broadcasters to attempt to regain lost public confidence.

and

"There is a tension at the heart of the journalistic enterprise. Its justification is that it promises to deliver what other sources can’t - information that is needed to equip the reader or viewer or listener for a more free and significant role as a human agent. But at the same time it is bound to a method and a rhetoric that treats its public as consumers and the information it purveys as a commodity."

He has many more darts to throw at the professionalism of the classic media, leading one to believe that there is very little professionalism there and the media ain't so classy after all.

Please remember that this is the same Dr. Rowan Williams who said:

...terrorists can "have serious moral goals".

and

no government should act as its own judge on whether to launch military action against a rogue state.

Linked to other unpoliced conversationalists: The Anchoress, Don Singleton, Harry's Place, Marc @ USSNeverdock (funny how he spells "Mark", QandO, Policani, Hero Von Esens, I Just Heard, The Owner's Manual, titusonenine, Last Week's News, Blood and Treasure, Classical Values, Daily Pundit,
.