Oh Crap!

In an “Oh, crap!” moment over spring break, I realized I forgot to write this entry. It got lost in the midterms and essays all due right before the week off, and somehow made its way out of my mind. I’m mad at myself because I had what I thought to be a solid argument as to why there is no need to credential journalists.
Looking back at some of the big-name scandals in recent years, the Blairs, Glasses and Leopolds of the world all got their chops busted big time as soon as it was discovered that they were fabricating sources, facts and stories. Now tell me, how would this have changed if they had been “officially credentialed” by some review board?
They all worked at highly-esteemed papers across the country and knew what the consequences would be if they ever got caught. The fact that they chose to continue with the dishonest behavior, to me signals that there was nothing that could be done prior to them lying that would have stopped them.
What it would take for these review boards to create any feeling of relevance would to catch reporters well before their stories go into publication. The boards would need some sort of department of pre-crime where deadly accurate psychics predict what is going to happen before it actually does. (Sorry for ripping an idea out of “Minority Report”). Once the lie is out there, it’s impossible to fully take it back.
Since the previous scenario would be impossible to enact, there would be no practical use for these boards other than to waste papers’ and journalists’ time. Liars and fabricators that get caught are already effectively blackballed by the industry and are shunned by those in the profession. It’s the same thing that would happen to a doctor who loses his medical license or teacher that gets her teaching certificate ripped up.
By creating these boards, it would, for a short while at least, appease the masses that claim the news medium have no more credibility or honesty. But soon, they would realize the boards do nothing to prevent new cheaters and liars from acting, and the beat of their drums would sound again.
The only reason left for creating review boards would be to appease the gigantic egos and quiet the incessant whining of some who have gone through years of training in journalism school. While I’m proud of what I have accomplished and learned in my time at MU, I think it is ridiculous to suggest that there aren’t people out there who couldn’t competently do the job we do. As proof, there have been many successful people with no journalism degree, such as Peter Jennings or even my sports editor, Greg Bowers who have been more than competent in their jobs.
Let’s put the effort into checking stories more thoroughly when they come through copy desks and randomly checking sources, so we can be proactive for once.