The Laurel was among the first to cheer when it was announced that Connecticut native and Greenwich High graduate Jen Psaki would be landing at MSNBC, but also the first to warn the move would be criticized as an example of the revolving door between government and the national news media.
Predictably, Alex Shepard of The New Republic, published an article last week titled: “Stop Hiring Flaks To Do the Work of Journalists.” While the concerns Shepard raises are valid, his prescription to address those concerns – an absolute bar to entry – is wrong.
When someone moves from the world of government and politics into the world of journalism – or vice versa – they should be judged based on their work and their approach to their work not on their previous career choices.
Anyone can declare himself or herself to be a journalist. The question of whether you succeed in terms of accuracy, insight, and credibility is left to the audience.
If we apply the “no flaks as journalists” rule retroactively we would deny ourselves the journalism of:
William Safire(Nixon), Diane Sawyer(Nixon), Bill Moyers(Johnson), Jeff Greenfield(B. Kennedy), Pierre Salinger(JFK), Tim Russert(Mario Cuomo), Nicolle Wallace(Bush/McCain), Chris Matthews(Tip O’Neill), and the list goes on.
There are lesser gods in this constellation. They are easily recognizable. They do not pretend to be journalists; only “formers” offering their partisan opinions. We do not know, at this point, what Psaki or MSNBC have in mind so it’s a mistake to offer a pre-emptive final judgment.
The question is not whether to allow someone to be a journalist, the question is how does the audience hold journalists accountable no matter their background.
