Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was a reporter, I occasionally would run across a self-important jackass of a public official who would try to confiscate my notebook, camera, or film to prevent me from reporting or photographing something.
I grew up with the notion that journalists were dedicated to openness and public disclosure, and opposed to the occasional wannabee totalitarian. But lately I've become convinced that in some professional journalistic organizations, the same tendancies lurk just beneath the surface.
So according to the Star Tribune, WCCO-TV puts together a public appearance for Katie Couric involving some 700 citizens and public officials ... and bars the press. And invites Matt Bartel, owner of the community blogsite MnSpeak. And then discovers who he is, tries to confiscate his notebook, and compromises by taking his pen.
Bartel has comments, as do members of the community. See also Newsvine coverage of a similar event in Texas, with photos on Flickr. See also Dan Gillmor. And if you're thinking of doing something like this, for cryin' out loud, don't invite 700 people and try to make them all wear a muzzle.
Comments
your post on couric
if I recall correctly you once were a reporter at the Strib or Pioneer Press.
your post is factually wrong.
There was a public event of 700 people that was open to the press,
There was a private event that was closed to the press of 75-100 people
The media knew about BOTH events and Bartel was invited as a community opinion leader to the private event and attended and was told he could observe or participate but no one was going to be allowed to "report" including the Strib - in fact it was the Strib that outed bartel....
if you're responsible like a reporter you'll correct your post and next time get your facts straight
Irrelevant
OK, there were two events. Doesn't change the basic problem that a news organization is acting like Dzherzinsky, deciding what may and may not be reported. I repeat: Shame on WCCO.
For the record, I was never a reporter at either newspaper. I was an editor at the Star Tribune, and I was the founding editor of the online operation.