Re: Al Gore's support of the Internet, by V.Cerf and B.Kahn

[Phillip Hallam-Baker <hallam@AI.MIT.EDU>]

> It is to Declan's credit that he also posted the Cerf an Kahn piece to his
> Politech list.  At the same time, Declan deserves eternal shame and
> condemnation for starting this story in the first place.  Any responsible
> journalist would have known better.

Rubbish!

Declan did what any good journalist would do. He wrote copy that would
move circulation figures upwards. He can get a job with Rupert Murdoch
any day of the week. Jobs at The Sun pay ever so much better than ones
on The Times.

All the business about Reporters having any duty to the truth is only
so much self serving platitudes. Declan did what the job required. He
wrote a story arround a deliberate lie. It sold the copy. Job done.

Anyone want to argue that Matt Drudge got where he is today through
selfless devotion to the facts?

> Moreover, if Declan had really been out to do the right thing, he would
have
> attached a formal apology to his Politech distribution.  Instead, he
merely
> redistributed it without comment and without addressing the issue of his
> personal responsibility in this matter.

Vint actually asked Declan specifically to distribute the piece. There
was no way he could refuse. The request was cc'd to Deve Farber who runs
an ever so much more influential list.


Incidentally, to bring this back to policy, looks to me as if the Internet
is doing the job intended. Anyone who reads the thread on talk.politics.misc
wil notice that the GOP flacks have noticably withdrawn from their original
position. URLs referencing hard news stories based on original sources
are being effective.

Back in '92 when I sold the idea of the Web to Jock Gill I positioned it
as a feedback loop that would force the mainstream media to be more
honest or risk serious loss of credibility. Anyone think that there is
a risk of Time doing another Cyberporn piece in the near future?

The NYTimes is making its retraction in no small part because Slate and
Salon pinned the blame for the Lee case on them.

I thought it would take about 10 years for the effect to be felt. Internet
time you know.

        Phill