Should the Press be held accountable?

[Abracadabra]

In all my bitter tirades -- -- (thanks, Fizban257 ) I never answered the OP's question.

NO, since there is no proof that the protesters obtain press credentials or badges to enter the floor, the press should not be held accountable. If some proof arises supporting this allegation, I would be willing to reconsider my answer. However, given the current FACTS, I'd be hard pressed to hold the press accountable for something they DIDN'T DO.

 

[spearenb]

Originally posted by Abracadabra
Not that it matters to me one whit, but it sounds like you'd have a less stressful time on this board if you used the Ignore feature more.

Use the Ignore button? Heck NO!!! This place is better than the circus sometimes with all of the freaks (tie-died and otherwise) that come out. And this thread with your responses have actually been so comical, there is no way I will have stress for three or four weeks.

 

[katerkat]

IF they obtained passes from the press, yes, the press should be held accountable. If I ever handed my press pass to anyone else, I would expect to be fired from my job at the very least.

However, there is a difference between floor passes and press passes. We don't want to be mixing on the floor with those other people. We need tables and whatnot to write, hence our own special section.

 

[Abracadabra]

Originally posted by spearenb
Use the Ignore button? Heck NO!!! This place is better than the circus sometimes with all of the freaks (tie-died and otherwise) that come out. And this thread with your responses have actually been so comical, there is no way I will have stress for three or four weeks.

Well then (and with apologies to the Republican Party)...

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

 

[LMC]

Since it appears it is ok to share press passes, does anyone have an AP they would like to share with me????

LOL!!!!!

I think the passes should be revoked and the two press people put on the "no entry" list for future events due to the disregard for the rules.

 

[Abracadabra]

Originally posted by LMC
I think the passes should be revoked and the two press people put on the "no entry" list for future events due to the disregard for the rules.

Where is the evidence that press passes were used?

CNN reported that the individuals taken away had floor passes, which are different from press passes.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by Abracadabra
This is very true, and this statement from CNN is a far cry from the OP's assertion that they obtained press corp passes. I could be mistaken, but I believe press corps passes are specifically identified as such, to distringuish them from delegate, VIP, speaker or visitor passes. I think that if the protesters had actually obtained PRESS credentials/passes, the story would have indicated that.

But then again, there's probably some big media conspiracy to hide the truth.

You can reference today's Hartford Courant. It clearly said that the protesters were given press passes from sympathetic members of the press.

 

[LMC]

I admit that I did not read all 5 pages of posts here but I did read the first 3pages. It appears that they used press creditials from all the statements here; you yourself even said something about "sympathetic" press people giving them their passes. SO, if this did happen, then there should be consequences just as if I broke the rules on something there would be consequences.

 

[Abracadabra]

Originally posted by DawnCt1
You can reference today's Hartford Courant. It clearly said that the protesters were given press passes from sympathetic members of the press.

I read the story. One person, Medea Benjamin, borrowed press credentials from a sympathetic press corps member (since she had her banner rolled in a copy of the New York Times it's probably easy to find out who loaned her the pass.

The other individual mentioned was Fernando Suarez del Solar, whose son was killed in Iraq. His story is that he got his pass from "a Republican friend." That one doesn't sound like the press corps to me.

CNN still reported that other protesters had "floor passes."

Doesn't change my answer/opinion.

 

[Abracadabra]

Originally posted by LMC
I admit that I did not read all 5 pages of posts here but I did read the first 3pages. It appears that they used press creditials from all the statements here; you yourself even said something about "sympathetic" press people giving them their passes. SO, if this did happen, then there should be consequences just as if I broke the rules on something there would be consequences.

Maybe so... if they can find who gave Medea Benjamin their press pass, that person should probably lose their pass, but not their job.

In the final analysis, I place the blame on the setup and security people for the convention. It is a simple task to create credentials with a photo on them. If they were truly serious about security, they would have addressed this and added a photo to the passes. That way any rent-a-cop should be able to spot someone who "borrowed" someone else's pass.

 

[Saffron]

The other individual mentioned was Fernando Suarez del Solar, whose son was killed in Iraq. His story is that he got his pass from "a Republican friend."

In that case, yes, I think the press member should be held accountable. He/she should be given a raise.

Every man or woman who lost a child, a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, a brother, or sister to that war, should be heard by the men/women who sent them there. They should hear all the heartbreaking wonderful stories and they should hear the heartbreaking angry stories. If the RNC is the only way that man's voice would be heard by those championing the war in Iraq, then I applaud the person who gave him the pass, whether it was a friend or a stranger.

He could have been a terrorist, but he wasn't, so to me, for that man, the "would have", "could have", "should haves" don't sell. He is a father of a son who was killed in Bush's name. Let him be heard by the country. Like I said in a previous post, there are degrees of accountability. Giving your pass to a man whose son was killed in Iraq, is different than giving it to an Act up member, which is different than giving it to an al Quida member.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by DawnCt1
.....Those members of the press, who contribute to breaches in security should be arrested as well. I also think that their employers should take a closer look at their HR policies and consider whether they are the kind of men and women they want to work for them.

True