Another rant:
In case you missed last night's earth-stopping news from Toronto, Justin Bieber turned himself in at a police station and was charged with assault in connection with an incident from a month ago.
While some TV and radio stations changed the facts to get a better story, there were maybe two dozen or so fans at the police station and not the "hundreds" as was reported. There were, in fact, far more "journalists" than fans. And this is where it gets embarrassing...
Bieber was nice enough, he even waved to his fans. His bodyguards were very polite. The police were also very nice. All the problems were caused solely by the journalists.
When Bieber's vehicles appeared in the distance, fans and journalists started *running* toward the moving cars. Why? What were they expecting to happen?
When Bieber got out of his car, journalists pushed and surged towards the car and started yelling questions at him. Again, why?
When he tried to leave, journalists had completely surrounded his car and blocked the exit door. Again, why? How were they expecting him to leave? In the end, he left via another door.
While a few photographers got some nice pictures, it could've been 100x better. It was a predictable and completely contained event. Yet the event was totally destroyed by journalists pushing, shoving, *trying to climb over each other*, yelling and screaming. So much for professionalism. No wonder "journalist" is one of the least respected and least trusted occupations in North America.
None of the reported frenzy or chaos came from the fans. It came solely from the journalists.
An absolutely embarrassing event.
In no particular order:
1) Panic gets you nowhere. Panic is the domain of the unprepared, the inexperienced and the foolish.
2) Running and yelling at your subject does not work. It does not work.
3) Having reporters occupy front-row positions instead of cameras is idiotic. It means that fewer photographers get pictures and pictures are the most important thing in a situation like this. Were TV and radio reporters actually expecting Bieber to stop and answer questions?
4) Reporters who blindly wave iPhones about like idiots should have their ams broken off.
5) When did the news media stop hiring experienced people who know what they're doing? Or, have all such people been laid off? Do they intentionally hire people who have no idea what they're doing?
6) Every picture will come to you if you let it. Trust me. It will always happen. Always.
Topic: Don't call me a journalist (Read 1707 times)