As I came across the article “Senator’s Attempt to Define ‘Real Journalism’ Blasted by Journalists”

(http://www.commondreams.org/news/2013/08/02/senators-attempt-define-real-journalism-blasted-journalists)

I was struck by the phrase “Real Journalism.” I began to think: If there is a real journalism, is there a fake journalism? Who defines what is journalism and what is not? And then I re-read the article’s title: Senator’s Attempt to Define Real Journalism… Then I thought how can you define journalism? And what gives a senator, somebody who is not a journalist, the power to do this?

So I read the entire article, not knowing what I was getting myself into. Here’s a summary of the article: Senator Dianne Feinstein says the shield law protecting the press should only be given to real journalists. She defines a real journalist as somebody who has a salary for a journalism career. Here I challenge the senator: A journalist, by nature, should not be driven by compensation. A journalists true passion should be to seek truth and report it. In the SPJ code of ethics, the rule of ethics do not only apply only to journalists who are getting paid. By tying journalism to money, Feinstein is suggesting that news is a commodity. This is a very troubling idea because when news becomes dictated by money it is no longer news. And a journalist’s ability to report the news should not be determined by his/her paycheck.

Senator Charles Schumer makes an interesting statement challenging Feinstein’s definition of real journalism. He states, “The world has changed. We’re very careful in this bill to distinguish journalists from those who shouldn’t be protected, WikiLeaks and all those, and we’ve ensured that...But there are people who write and do real journalism, in different ways than we’re used to. They should not be excluded from this bill."

Schumer understands that we live in a world that is constantly changing, especially in terms of technology. Now everybody is able to make a blog and report on corruptions in the world. In a way we are all journalists, but of course, not everybody can be awarded a press pass. But Dianne Feinstein completely disregards the importance of independent journalists. She is stuck in the past and refuses to open her eyes to new media and the evolving identities of journalists.