Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by free_rms 2018 days ago
There's no certification for being an Official Journalist and that's a good thing.
1 comments

If that is the case, the term sadly becomes meaningless then.

Because then any random person with a smartphone and a social media account can claim to be a journalist and make a video (or a tweet?) claiming anything and everything. That Bill Gates is building a zombie army. That they found evidence of rampant election fraud, subscribe, hit the bell icon, and come back next week when they'll release the kraken!

Obviously needing certification would also be a bad thing, because then who does the certification, and will they be neutral? ("Welcome to Russian Journalism Certification. First question: what do you think about Vladimir Putin?")

The significance of the term journalist, especially in the situation of Assange’s, has to do with legal protection more than credibility.