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President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Moderator1, Nov 12, 2016.

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  1. typefitter

    typefitter Well-Known Member

    And by the way, I totally respect what you do for a living. I believe in craft. You know that.
     
    typefitter, Sep 5, 2017
    #53329
  2. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    In the U.S., I'd argue that journalism, in particular (more than most things), shouldn't require "licensing."

    First, the reason licensing exists for many things is outright corruption. Labor groups and various service industries have incentive to throw up barriers to entry to drive up the price of what they offer. It costs us all. Those groups offer blocks of votes to politicians for quid pro quos -- once elected, the payback is legislation to create the roadblocks, and licensing requirements are a prime example. They drive up costs for the rest of us.

    Secondly, a free press is vital to a democracy, which is why such an onus was put on it at the time of the U.S.'s founding. You can't put requirements on it and maintain that freedom. It's exactly how a despotic government would go about doing away with a free press in order to carry out its despotism.

    As for licensing in general, there are many professions that came up with licensing standards on their own -- without it being legislated on everyone. It was because those licenses gave the people who held them a competitive advantage in attracting customers. People figure those kinds of things out perfectly well on their own.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 5, 2017
    #53330
  3. typefitter

    typefitter Well-Known Member

    I don't know this for a fact, but I think most professional journalists would support something like this. I have no idea how you'd do it. But there are a lot of heehaws pretending to be journalists giving the rest of us a bad name.
     
    typefitter, Sep 5, 2017
    #53331
  4. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    I like the Betsy DeVos argument so much, I have to share it with my friends!

    Not seeing it.
     
    poindexter, Sep 5, 2017
    #53332
    YankeeFan likes this.
  5. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Well, I agree with Ragu that a lot of licensing is bullshit, burdensome, and an unnecessary barrier to entry.

    And, certainly the government couldn't mandate it in the case of journalists.

    But, couldn't news organizations voluntarily agree not to hire folks who haven't -- at a minimum -- passed some sort of standard test regarding ethics?
     
    YankeeFan, Sep 5, 2017
    #53333
  6. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    No, we're not talking about that at all. What we're talking about is the application of a jejune (and, I might add, wholly anti-intellectual/anti-expertise) position that whether someone ever went to a public school is suggestive of that person's suitability as an administrator of public schools*. The HuffPo hot take pursued to its logical conclusion would be that had DeVos attended P.S. 141 from grades 3 through 5 ... that would make her more suitable as SecEd. It is absolutely ridiculous.




    *Which is Not. What. The. SecEd. Is.
     
    doctorquant, Sep 5, 2017
    #53334
  7. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    How does anyone else or anything else get accredited? PMPs, ASEs, Masters programs, etc. It's not hard, and is mostly done within the given industry already.

    What is hard is building the credibility around both the standards you set and the people you train.
     
    MisterCreosote, Sep 5, 2017
    #53335
    Riptide likes this.
  8. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member


    There have always been heehaws pretending to be journalists. I am sure there were people saying that about Thomas Paine when he was considered a rabble-rouser and he was printing pamphlets.

    The problem is that where you draw the line at "heehaw" is different than where the next guy is going to draw that line. That is a big issue.

    The beautiful thing about a free press is that everyone is free to disseminate things to their heart's content. And consumers are free to pay attention or not -- they can decide what is worthwhile and what isn't for themselves.

    It's the way it should be. It's arrogant to suggest that we need to limit some people because they don't meet your (I am using "your" in the generic sense, not about you in particular) standards for journalism.

    More info, opinions, etc. is never a bad thing, anyhow, in my opinion.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 5, 2017
    #53336
    SpeedTchr likes this.
  9. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Colon wins AL Cy Young

    #Licensing
     
    Dick Whitman, Sep 5, 2017
    #53337
    YankeeFan likes this.
  10. BitterYoungMatador2

    BitterYoungMatador2 Well-Known Member

    In insurance you have to pass a state exam to get your producer license. I would have no issue with putting people through a weekend course on ethics and giving an exam. Oh, and if you fuck up gloriously your license is either suspended or revoked.
     
    BitterYoungMatador2, Sep 5, 2017
    #53338
  11. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    I believe Dick Cheney would have revoked the credentials of at least 30 reporters from the New York Times or Washington Post.
     
    LongTimeListener, Sep 5, 2017
    #53339
  12. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Dick Whitman, Sep 5, 2017
    #53340
    YankeeFan likes this.
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