Shared Sins

Ranch ducks!

This morning I got robospammed by a cute little algorithm who calls herself lorraine. She represents the Society of Professional Journalists.

Before I dig in, let me try to make a couple of things clear. I am, technically, a journalist. Got credentials and ayythang. I write for a weekly ag publication called The Business Farmer, based out of Scottsbluff, Neb., a short 45 miles north of the ranch.

I also worked for several years as writer/reporter/photographer -- and finally -- editor, of Kimball's once hometown newspaper, the Western Nebraska Observer.

Before that I worked on the ol' kollidge newspaper while taking quite a few journalism classes at a nearly-local school of lowish higher learning.

On the first day of newsjay-101 I learned that the purpose of journalism, and therefore the purpose of journalists, is to inform, educate and entertain the public. I was also made aware of the Code of Ethics of the profession, promulgated right there in lorraine's office.

This morning's missive from lorraine referenced a 2012 blog post of mine in which I cited the code and rather took the profession to task. She noted that since I'd done so, she "figured that free press is a subject you care for."

She wanted me to link a blog post which teaches journalists how to do their work in complete secrecy and without transparency. Here's the text of the lovely lorraine's message.

lorraine@website-pro.co.za

Hello there !
I saw that you mentioned the Society of Professional Journalists on your page here:prairieadventure.blogspot.com/2012/12/context.html so I figured that free press is a subject you care for.

This is not an easy time for journalists all over the world, with the discoveries of surveillance on citizens, which includes journalists and their sources.

I’d like to ask you to share a guide, written by one journalist to his colleagues all over the world. The guide can help them protect their work and fulfil their mission.

https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/online-privacy-journalists/

If you can add it to your page, as well as share it over social networks, it would be a tremendous help to the free press.

Thanks in advance,

Now here's my suggestion. I suggest you chase the links and read at least a bit of what is on offer. I suggest you look at the code of ethics first. I suggest you note the fact that the code isn't really a standard (should rather than shall), and also think about whether those notions seem appropriate for the exercise of the rights and responsibilities of a free press in this nation -- given the history and reality of the founding of America and her Constitution and Bill of Rights and all that jazz.

And then ask yourself what your responsibility is as a sovereign citizen of the land and as a consumer and user of journalism.

That is all.