The Associated Press reported today that Joe The Plumber is headed to Israel to serve as a war correspondent for the conservative Web site Pajamas TV. In the off chance you don’t remember, Joe (actually Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher) gained national fame during election season when he asked President-elect Barack Obama about his tax plan. The McCain camp used a clip of the unflattering Q&A in an arguably well-fought attempt to gain support during the campaign’s final weeks.
Joe the Plumber in Elyria, Ohio with Sen. Lindsay Graham and Cindy McCain behind him
Now, I like the concept of reporting on Israelis’ daily lives and how war affects the average citizen. And, as a multimedia journalist, I also like the idea of regular citizens getting involved. The Web–including social networking sites, CNN’s iReport, Fox’s UReport, and blogs–has changed what it means to even be a journalist. It has grayed the line between “professional journalism” (e.g. the Associated Press) and “citizen journalism” (e.g., someone’s uncle’s blog on local UFO sightings or any other instance where non-professionals collect, report, analyze and disseminate news and information).
For better or worse, there is no Hippocratic oath for us in the media. And as much as I love my Society of Professional Journalists membership card, it’s not a license. Any argument against average citizens reporting the news is purely opinion-based. Surely any citizen, if he or she reports the truth, is a better journalist than Stephen Glass and Jayson Blair were in the end.
On the flip-side of things, I admit that I am more than a little uncomfortable at the prospect of Joe the War Reporter. To say the Israeli-Gaza conflict is a “serious topic” would be a gross understatement, and so I’ve got a lot of concerns: Does Joe have any journalistic training? Will he be fair to all parties involved in the conflict? Does he know the difference between objectivity and editorializing, and does he care? Will anyone be there to fact-check his work?
I’m leaving this one up to you guys. What do think about this issue? You don’t have to be a journalist to fill out this poll. In fact, I’m hoping to get a healthy mix of responses. If you do choose to take the poll, please elaborate upon your answer in the comments section.
Note: I could be completely wrong to attach a time limit to Joe’s fame–a lot of Americans really seem to love him. Considering his personality and political leanings, he could wind up being the next Bill O’Reilly. O’Reilly, after all, didn’t start out as a reporter either.
Rima Chaddha Mycynek is a writer, reporter, editor, photographer, videographer, former talk show host, and all-around journalism nerd. She currently teaches multimedia journalism at Boston University. [
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9 users responded in this post
There is a certain honesty with some average guy reporting what he sees who doesn’t have to worry about his ratings.
But then there is also something to be said about someone who knows what he’s talking about and has the skills to frame what is happening in the larger picture.
Joe can tell you that “Wow..people are suffuring, the cities are being devastated, and there is anger, frustration and fear.” Versus CNN analyst Fareed Zakaria who could tell you that Hamas is part a terrorist group but now is embedded in Gaza society, building hospitals, roads, homes, and is now the political power in Gaza, but still pursues attacks on Israel because it believes Israel is not a state but zionists who have taken the land away from the rightful owners(Palestinians)…yada yada…Funded by Iran to weaken America’s standing in muslim countries…yada yada…etc…
Just thought of this…
A good way to say it is Joe/Sam can give you an honest opinion. He can give you the American point of view. He can also represent Republican ideology.
But he can’t give you an UNDERSTANDING of the situation unless someone else puts it up on the teleprompter.
“There is a certain honesty with some average guy reporting what he sees who doesn’t have to worry about his ratings.”
True, but Joe isn’t going overseas to blog for himself. He’s working for a media company, albeit a small one. And as far as I can tell, he’s getting paid to be himself (that is, Americans’ perception of his Joe the Plumber alter ego).
“A good way to say it is Joe/Sam can give you an honest opinion. He can give you the American point of view. He can also represent Republican ideology.”
He might represent typical party ideology, but I think Americans are too divided on the issue for Joe to be their sole voice.
I think you’re right about the rest: He’s not an analyst, nor an expert on the region.
YUP.
I don’t think he’ll be much more informed than ME doing the same job.
I guess I mean to say is that there already is so much BAD reporting, he could easily do better.
It all depends on how high you set the bar. I would trust his opinions more than I would Rush Limbaugh or Shawn Hannity. I trust Joe’s opinions as much as I would every member of The View outside of Walters. And he could probably sound more level headed than Lou Dobbs or Anne Coulter. And he probably wouldn’t sensationalize the news like Wolf Blitzer and CNN does.
I think Joe could do a better job than what we are currently getting.
But to be honest… I think he’ll be boring.
Here is something you may like. The Daily Show’s take on Joe the war correspondant:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=215322&title=burger-at-1600
It’s actually halfway into the segment.
I love how Joe phrased how he plans to stay safe in a war torn region. And of course being totally naive, he chooses “the most offensive possible answer to the people of the region”.
Tom, regarding your second last comment, I just wanted to say that I sincerely appreciate your input. It’s good to hear a non-journalist’s take on things. I’m glad to have you here.
As for the video, that was hilarious. I haven’t seen the Daily Show in quite sometime, but I’ve always enjoyed it!
I felt like the “pronounciate” thing was a little b it of a cheap shot. Joe seemed nervous and so he misspoke. But as for the whole “I’m a Christian…God will protect me” thing, egad. Watch what you say when you’re over there, Joe!
Thanks Reemie!
And re: Joe, I was thinking the same thing! He’s going to get himself killed.
To me, this is right up there with those Korean Baptist Missionaries that decided to in the name of God to convert Taliban to Christianity….Yeah…that worked well…
I really don’t think he has the proper training to cover something of this magnitude. Like some of the above comments, he doesn’t know that saying certain things or certain reactions can and will get him into trouble.
Personally, I think community journalism is great….but to an extent. I think it has its merits when it comes to covering the bake sale for a local church or a car accident that happened in front of the local gas station./
However, for something like this international affair, the networks need someone who can fully report on the situation, good and bad. Joe will be able to give his honest opinion about suffering, but will he really be able to interpret and fully understand that reporting news is not just standing in front a camera for all the world to see.
I agree with jmarrexi here – community journalism is great, and often I believe the community can see a different side of the story than the well-worn journalist. This story, though, is so important, so completely huge – I’m not sure he’s ready. Reporting is my job and even I’m not sure *I* could cover it adequately, you know? It’s a huge responsibility.
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