Carl Bernstein: Reporters Need To Do More Work "Off The Clock"

AP Via Editor & Publisher:

Carl Bernstein took reporters at a news conference to task for not spending enough time on stories when he found out many weren't staying to listen to his speech.

Bernstein, who along with reporter Bob Woodward broke the Watergate scandal that helped bring down the Nixon administration, spoke to journalists before a speech Wednesday at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

When he asked how many reporters were covering his evening speech, many said they were not, citing early deadlines.

Read the whole story: AP Via Editor & Publisher

Comments

[GenericBlogger]

I agree with those who feel Bernstein could have done more to question Dubya's administration.

More than anyone in the media, I believe Bob Woodward failed to take charge and set the standard for reporting Dubya and his administration's actions.

I expected more from Bob Woodward because he was and is more active in the Washington scene, he is an assistant managing editor at the Washington Post, he interviewed Dubya, wrote books on Dubya, his administration and the most important issues.

[utopiate]

Let's face it, he'll always be a Dustin Hoffman to Woodwads Redford.

[Birdman]

I disagree that reporters should be working off the clock, if ole Carl feels they are not doing enough then he should be addressing the media owners in general, and telling them to pony up the money to provide better coverage. After all if a reporter works to get the story but are not compensated then the paper, magazine or news outlet gets more then what they are paying for, and reap the profits from beter coverage. Nope I say that reporters work for what they are paid for and if Carl wants more coverage then he needs to talk to the owners and not tell rpeorters they should work for free I bet he was paid for his speaking engagement. Maybe he should do that for free.

[GenericBlogger]

You are right Birdman, Bernstein should advise the owners and managers of reporters to pay them or compensate them somehow.

Working off the clock won't harm a career. Dedicating more time could mean the difference between good and excellent work. Perhaps in time it could lead to a raise, an award, recognition or a promotion.

Owners and managers should allow reporters to sniff and investigate more stories not destined for fluff and infotainment.

The better the news coverage, the more prepared we are for political campaigns, elections, government issues and other events that affect our lives.

[godlessclif]

Is Walmart starting a newspaper now.

"Working off the clock won't harm a career. Dedicating more time could mean the difference between good and excellent work. Perhaps in time it could lead to a raise, an award, recognition or a promotion." Generic

Management does not want excellent work, they just want more work for less money. Everything is judged by spreadsheets.

That is why there is so much crap, because the computer is counting words and no one is reading the stuff. The manager is too busy running operations research programs and besides he is now managing 2,000
employees and need a blackberry to keep track of their names, because the middle layers of management have been eliminated to boost productivty.

[realitytrumpsbull]

I think reporters just need to do more work, PERIOD. What are the 5 'w's, and no, Bush is not one of them...

I once had the misfortune to run into a
college student who was majoring in journalism
and communications, AKA a professional bullshitter, and to this day I unfortunately
have zero respect for the guy. I mean, I know
their main mission in life is to sell washing
machines, but that's not REALLY getting the
story, now, is it? Have YOU driven a Ford lately? Who the hell honestly cares what car
you drive? Um, 'they' do, because they want
Ford's sponsorship, and, chances are, if they've
got someone like that for a sponsor, you won't
hear anything bad about that company's product
on their broadcasts. It's crap. It's a racket.
It has been for YEARS. And, it'll continue.
That's how someone like Beck ever GOT in that
chair, to begin with, because they're TPT-reading sock puppets, and that's it. That's all
you get. Sit THERE, look pretty in front of the
camera, and read the little screen THERE, follow
the bouncing ball, may as well get ASIMO to
read you the news, they do have text-to-speech
recognition etc.

REAL investigative journalism means asking the
questions that some people don't want to have
asked, possibly even getting fired, or worse.
When reporters really do their jobs, sometimes
other people get fired, too, and get angry and
vengeful, and stuff. So, maybe it's better
to report on the tulip festival...safer, anyway.
But, the principles of a free press require
a little more than the latest stats on pork bellies, they require that such parties as
wish to publish the Dirt go and first rake up
some. Hats off to the intrepid fact-finders
who yield to none, and don't stop until they
have the Real Story...

[godlessclif]

Kolchak: The Night Stalker was a television series that aired on ABC in 1974 about a newspaper reporter—Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin—who investigates crimes with mysterious and unlikely causes that the proper authorities won't accept or pursue.

You are right. The Carl Kolchak's of the world are not working for newspapers. They are working for fly by night news blogs.

The MSM reporters are not newsmen in the tradition of Elli Abel of the Washington Post who covered the 1956 Hungarian uprising.

The print reporters like Friedman are all advertising men and the TV news readers like Glenn Beck are just talk show hosts.

If the eighties had today's management Wink Martindale and Chuck Woolery would have the news anchors instead of Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw.

http://www.bu.edu/com/comment/archive/1999/totalredemption.htm

WE ARE ALL WHORES

"When Liz Gumbinner was a freelance advertising writer, just a few years after her graduation from Boston University's College of Communication, she developed a self-promotional ad campaign. In it, a woman dressed as a prostitute held an advertising portfolio and leaned into a car on New York's West Side Highway. "In a way, we're all whores. Our job is just to sell stuff," she says. "We joke about it. It's not a bad thing. It's kind of a funny thing."

[andyboy]

Fox News had Carl on and they smeared him and lied about him immediately after he left the set.

He said it would be fine if Chris Matthews moderated a republican debate. The panel of Fox Nazi's freaked out.

They asked him if it would be okay if Hannity or O'Reilly moderated one and he said yes even them.

Then the half naked flashing Blonde Catwoman look alike asked if he would like to see either Hannity or O'Reilly do it as much as Matthews he said no because they didn't really know anything about politics (which is true).

So they lied about him after the commercial and said he didn't think Hannity or O'Reilly should be allowed to moderate which was an out and out lie.

[fourex]

Carl Bernstein: Reporters Need To Do More Work "Off The Clock, Away From The Handout."

[BigBagel]

These blowhard celeb journalists couldn't find a whore in a whorehouse with a fist full of fifties. Great job on the run up to the Iraq war boys. You too Judith.

[Theda]

Hey Carl.....can you explain why your famous "Watergate" boss, Ben Bradlee, went over to the dark side when Clinton was President?
For a long time, I couldn't understand why Bradlee was constantly trashing Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Eventually we all learned he was friends with attorney Ken Starr, who was prosecuting Clinton for perjury.
We also learned that Bradlee alligned himself with Starr because nine years earlier, Starr saved him and his newspaper from a huge libel lawsuit.
So Bradlee and Starr became best friends. Instead of defending Clinton, Bradlee and his wife Sally Quinn trashed the Clintons non-stop for lying about his affair with Lewinsky.
After all, they didn't want to speak out against Starr, who spent $80 million targeting Clinton.
Subsequently, we got George Bush, who lied about WDMs to start a war in Iraq.
Certainly THAT is worse than lying about a sexual affair, don't you think?

[stormkite]

Unfortunately, those of us who are not Names and don't get to schmooze with the bazillionaires have a hard time doing any more work "off the clock" since it makes us late for our second and third jobs that let us make enough money to actually pay rent and gas and car insurance and actually eat once in a while.

Carl's been off in the stratosphere so long he can't even see where his feet are (or maybe that's just the expense account lunches?)

Eff him.

[jdfast]

Yea, your problem is that you are too fuck--- lazy to do any real reporting. Its all done by phone or off the wire. Great reporters we have today. He earned his stripes you ass wipe, quit crying.

[nunzia]

Are you suggesting that they spend that time on actual work when they're customarily shmoozing with inside-the-beltway types they're supposed to be telling the truth about?

[VOTER]

Media: cowards with no ideals or patriotism.

[VOTER]

Patriotism is everything.

What is the price the media has been paid to lose theirs?

The cost to America is unbelievable.

[OhPlease2007]

"Reporters Need To Do More Work "Off The Clock?""

Who is this Berstein fooling? With all the softballs being thrown at 'supposed front runners' in the '08 election?; no, lazy reporters need to do more work, 'ON THE CLOCK.'

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

Americans get their news from multi-millionaires living in bubbles of luxury. Small wonder why the most pressing issue in the mainstream media is always, "What to Buy?".

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

Americans get their news from multi-millionaires living in bubbles of leisure. Small wonder why the most pressing issue in the mainstream media is always, "What to Buy?".

[Ginzaman]

He and Woodward were the last. Now it's all about money, power, perks, books, lecture tours, and the talk shows.

[accountability]

yeah, but why isn't Carl... and Woodward for that matter doing it NOW?
They have had 7 years to expose these sonsabitches. Patriotism should call for it since he seems to be the one who knows how.

Actually Abu was a great story broken.
there are lots of stories broken just no one does the real work for following up and even if they do it takes the justice department to bring the frigging charges and congress to launch investigations.
Seems to me congress has a lot of fricking investigations, unfortunately it takes all of congress and justice to do anything about it.

I mean look at all the stuff we KNOW about.

but yeah, these MSM need to really start working.

Did anyone else notice Matthews the other nite? BTW
Speaking of lazy bastards. He commented on McCain saying something controversial at the "Debate" that he had picked up on immediately ... about IRAN and war.
Why the HELL didn't he ask McCain AT the debate?
Gee, god forbid we should actuall;y have some substance and a good dustup at these things.

It is all so stinking shameful. All of it.

All those real journalists of the past must be spinning.
So screw you Carl fricking Bernstein. You've been resting on your laurels for Watergate for too long. You deserve all the Kudos possible for that... but if you want to have creds now, do something about it NOW or STFU!

[godlessclif]

Woodward and Bernstein have too much to lose to "do it now". Look what happened to Connie Chung,
and all she did was to get Newt's mother to spill the beans about Newt calling Hillary a bitch.

Look what happened to David Brock. His books used to be plugged on Fox by Ollie North and on Rush radio show. Now David Brock has to go to book signings at the "City Lights" bookstore

"HOWL"

October 3 marks the 50th anniversary of the vindication of Allen Ginsberg's HOWL and the dismissal of obscenity charges against Ferlinghetti. We and scholars at the First Amendment Center in Washington, D.C. hoped to have the poem read over Pacifica Radio stations to celebrate this victory over censorship.

FCC rules now forbid the broadcasting of a single indecent word before10:00 pm. The fines for so doing range from $5,000,000 to $25,000,000. Pacifica Radio said they could not air the poem before that hour for fear they would be cited and driven off the air. So there will be instead a Pacifica internet broadcast in conjunction with a panel discussion about the issue (Albert Bendich, the counsel for the ACLU at the trial, and Ferlinghetti will take part). We are hoping to generate publicity about these insane laws.

[ZingoBonMot]

In the last six and a half years, have they DONE ANY reporting ON THE CLOCK?