What is the difference between a journalist and an onlooker?
Just reading NSFW: After Fort Hood, another example of how ‘citizen journalists’ can’t handle the truth by Paul Carr. The entire article by @paulcarr is worth a read, it has some compelling points.
However, one thing popped out at me. In the excerpt below is a great example of a double standard. An ordinary person is criticized for acting just like a journalist - accused of staying objective & reporting instead of stepping in to help like a human being.
Why is it ok for a journalist to stand by & simply report carnage but not ok for an ordinary person?
Even if you’ve seen the footage before, you should watch it again. But this time bear in mind the following: the cameraman was not a professional reporter, but rather an ordinary person, just like the victim. And what did he do when he saw a young girl bleeding to death? Did he run for help, or try to assist in stemming the bleeding? No he didn’t.
via techcrunch.com
