> Journalism is publishing the truth that someone does not want told; all else is stenography and marketing.
Well, it's certainly that, too. But journalism can also be about uncovering truths that hardly anyone knows about, or telling stories that help us understand the world.
> We're going back to word of mouth, moderated by cryptographically attested pseudonymous identities because that will work so much better...
You're probably being sarcastic, but even if word of mouth never passed straight out lies and total myths, journalism isn't just about reporting facts, but putting them in perspective. Perspective is necessary because there are simply too many facts for you to digest. A professional journalist hopefully keeps track of all pertinent facts of her beat, and reports the most important stories in context.
Word of mouth can, at most, be a data collection mechanism. In fact, word of mouth is one of the inputs a journalist works with; it certainly can't substitute the final product.
This is a version of a quotation, ""Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." It is usually attributed to George Orwell, but it may be older: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:George_Orwell#Attribution....
Well, it's certainly that, too. But journalism can also be about uncovering truths that hardly anyone knows about, or telling stories that help us understand the world.
> We're going back to word of mouth, moderated by cryptographically attested pseudonymous identities because that will work so much better...
You're probably being sarcastic, but even if word of mouth never passed straight out lies and total myths, journalism isn't just about reporting facts, but putting them in perspective. Perspective is necessary because there are simply too many facts for you to digest. A professional journalist hopefully keeps track of all pertinent facts of her beat, and reports the most important stories in context.
Word of mouth can, at most, be a data collection mechanism. In fact, word of mouth is one of the inputs a journalist works with; it certainly can't substitute the final product.