Participatory Journalism

Keith's note: NASA AA for Public Affairs Morrie Goodman is an old school, traditional media type. He does not like the way I report things (OK, so who does?). But he also does not like the way that the NASA Advisory Council has been incorporated and wants to get at least one member removed due to their journalism background. So ... I sent him this email:

"Hmm .... Sanjay Gupta - in Haiti as a "journalist" for CNN - ended up doing emergency neurosurgery on "a Haitian victim on a Navy aircraft carrier - in front of the cameras. CNN "journalist" Anderson Cooper grabbed some poor kid covered in blood that a mob was trying to kill - and saved his life - in front of the cameras. As a 4th estate purist, I wonder what your take would be on this?  I would guess that you'd say that Sanjay and Anderson should have just stood by and let things happen - while the cameras rolled. Journalists do not "participate" in things, right?. Nor are they human, right? How 20th century. Any response will be posted verbatim on NASAWatch."

Newsman becomes newsmaker, Nature

"There is some conflict between these correspondents' dual roles. Not intervening in a story is a central tenet in journalism, but as doctors, these individuals are compelled to attend the sick and injured when they can help. ... Even at NASAwatch Keith Cowing baits a NASA public affairs administrator who Cowing says takes a hard line on non-interventionist journalism."


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I doubt you'll get a reply, but I think this is a great point! Since when does being a journalist mean they have to be inhuman as well.

Who is this Morrie Goodman schmuck anyway? My assumption is that he's against Miles being on the Council, since Miles is a journalist. This Morrie idiot should be removed from his position for such thinking, because having a journalist on the Council is the ultimate in public affairs.

As someone who has grown up with the morality plays called "Star Trek", sometimes you have to listen to your humanity and ignore the "Prime Directive".

If you want to make something happen, you have to learn to first ignore fear mongerers and make it happen by taking a long series of actions designed to slowly change people's perceptions of how things should be perceived. Taking action requires a lot of thought, courage, and persistence.

It works best, if the actions you take spawn others to follow. Eventually, your actions are overcome by a massive number of others doing what you are doing until you get lost in translation.

When you get lost in translation, you reflect on your accomplishments and revel in your success, i.e., "cash-in" so to speak.

There's a big difference between Gupta and Cooper stepping in where lives and safety are at stake, vs. a journalist sitting on a panel and discussing NASA's priorities. I don't see it as a valid comparison, except as follows.

One argument in the Nature post that resonated for me, and applies to both situations, is this: "Many are arguing that once intervention begins (and by all rights, in these cases it must) the reporting stops, or else the story risks becoming a tool of self promotion." That's exactly what made me uneasy about CNN's coverage of Gupta's work and of Cooper's rescue. The CNN response should have been -- well, never mind, it's off topic.

The journalist sitting on the NAC should not report on the NAC, but is expected and encouraged to use his/her experience to support the work of the NAC. If time permits, he/she can pursue other stories.

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This page contains a single entry by Keith Cowing published on January 19, 2010 1:31 AM.

Will NASA No Longer Boldly Go? was the previous entry in this blog.

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