Saunders sounds too bureaucratic; Sites unforgiving putting him on the spot. Josh Wolf doesn't have to make a choice right there and then. Josh Wolf is identified with anarchists , some with violent reputations, and the US Government is not going to have it. Perhaps he will continue his coverage of different anarchist groups in the future- the full variety of thought in that movement. I'm not here to write off the anarchists.
As bloggers it's really easy to color the truth unintentionally. I think though if you're "objective and neutral", you can get the research you need to make a case. Francisco franciscodaum.com --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Heath" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Interesting article > > http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs28294;_ylt=AjL7tlWL.cedgomrWP1 > qsXOs0NUE > > SAN FRANCISCO -- Whether he is a journalist or not, as many debate, > Josh Wolf believed strongly enough in the journalistic principle of > protecting his sources that he was willing to spend seven and a half > months in a federal prison being faithful to it. > > Tuesday afternoon, he walked out of the Dublin Federal Correctional > Institution in California a free man. > > Wolf was in prison for refusing to hand over video he shot during a > protest in San Francisco in 2005. In a deal brokered between his > lawyers and federal prosecutors, Wolf posted the uncut video of the > protest on his site, JoshWolf.net, gave prosecutors a copy, told them > he had not witnessed any crimes and was released. > > In exchange, prosecutors acceded to Wolf's key contention: that he > not be made to appear before the grand jury and identify those on his > videotape. > > > "Journalists absolutely have to remain independent of law > enforcement,'' Wolf told reporters outside the gates of the > prison. "Otherwise, people will never trust journalists.'' > > > Just as Wolf became a poster boy for the debate of whether bloggers > are actually journalists and deserving the same legal protections, > his status as an Internet icon may get another boost as likely the > first federal prison inmate to be released for posting a video to his > website. > > Wolf, who calls himself and activist and anarchist on another one of > his sites, "The Revolution Will Be Televised," filmed a July 2005 San > Francisco protest against the World Trade Organization which > turned violent. A police officer suffered a fractured skull and there > were allegations of attempted arson. > > > Wolf provided some of the footage to local television stations, but > refused to give the raw outtakes to a grand jury. > > > The standoff led to Wolf being jailed and sparked a heated debate > about whether an activist blogger deserved the same protections as a > professional journalist. > > > I spoke to Wolf by telephone while he was still in prison a few weeks > ago and asked him if his advocacy made him selective in what he > videotaped at the protest. Would he turn off the camera to protect > his friends? A partial transcript of our conversation follows (Listen > to the full interview). > > > Kevin Sites: If there had been a situation where you saw a protestor > beating up a police officer, or you saw them committing arson, would > you have shot that? > > > Josh Wolf: I wasn't there to shoot that. > > > Kevin Sites: No, but would you have shot that? > > > Josh Wolf: That's a question I would have made in that moment... > > > Kevin Sites: Well, that's what I want to ask you. If I asked you to > take sides, if I asked you to take a side of journalism or activism, > you know, which side are you taking here? Because you're asking for > the protection of journalism yet you're also seeking to be an > activist. > > "My role is to uncover the truth to deliver to the public. That is my > number one accountability." > � Josh Wolf > > > Josh Wolf: Would you not say that Thomas Paine was an activist for > the Declaration of - or the independence of America and also... > > > Kevin Sites: But I would say that he would not be claiming to be > journalist, he would be claiming to be an activist. That's all I'm > asking you to do, is take sides. Are you claiming to be an activist > or a journalist? > > Josh Wolf: I don't. I see that advocacy has a firm role within the > realm of journalism. > > Kevin Sites: Right, but as an advocate, you have to be willing to > allow yourself to be jailed and expect the consequences of your > actions. As a journalist, you're asking for certain protections, you > know, from those consequences. That's why I'm asking you, you know, > which side do you want to step on at this point. > > Josh Wolf: My role is to uncover the truth to deliver to the public. > That is my number one accountability. > > Kevin Sites: But that truth is through, as you said, a prism of your > own political convictions. > > Josh Wolf: The truth is biased by everyone's convictions, whether > it's a corporate conviction of your employer, your own personal > convictions that are left politically based from mainstream press > perspective, or a more biased perspective [because of] which you > won't be as open about as a journalist who does not put forward an > impression that they are trying to be objective. If you watch the > videotape, you'll see there are many things that make the protestors > look bad and there are things that make the cops look bad. It is > essentially a balanced report of what I saw. It's a bird's eye view. > > Debra Saunders, a conservative columnist for the San Francisco > Chronicle, applauds Wolf's dedication, but doesn't believe he should > be called a journalist. > > "I think that you can be a blogger and be a journalist," Saunders > tells me from her office at the Chronicle. "There are people who fit > that [description], but when you're an activist cavorting with the > people you're chronicling, then you are not a journalist." > > Her own newspaper disagrees with that assessment and has supported > Wolf on the Chronicle's opinion pages. > > "The fact that Josh Wolf has strong political views does not > disqualify him from being a journalist any more than the fact that I > am an editorial page editor and have opinions disqualifies me from > being a journalist," says John Diaz of the Chronicle. "The fact is, > he was out at that rally, collecting information to disseminate to > the public. I think that makes him a journalist." > > Ultimately, Saunders says, it won't be journalists and bloggers who > decide the issue, but the government. > > "The courts are going to end up deciding who journalists are, > because, unfortunately, this administration is really pushing the > envelope in jailing journalists, and it won't end with the Bush > administration," Saunders says. "It will get bigger as people point > fingers in many ways, and that means the courts are going to decide > who journalists are. You may not like it, but that's the way it is." > > A couple of things struck me in this article, it reminded me of a > conversation I had with Josh well over a year ago, not long after I > had joined this group. I found him witty and passionite but I > wondered about "objectivity" and he basicly said the same thing to me > as he did here. > > It will be interesting to see what the future holds.... > > Heath > http://batmangeek.com >
