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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. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    The industry as a whole comes up with universally agreed-upon and recognized standards of excellence. It literally happens all the time.

    And, if we're talking about certification, not "licensure," you are not limiting anyone - they can still write their drivel for any place that'll publish it.

    Mechanics who aren't ASE-certified can still be mechanics. They're just not recognized as the better choice, and rightfully so.
     
    MisterCreosote, Sep 5, 2017
    #53341
  2. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I feel like we're far afield here.

    The assertion was that DeVos is unqualified to be Secretary of Education because she did not attend public schools.

    The argument isn't that expertise doesn't matter or isn't valuable.

    It's whether expertise is obtained by attending public schools from the ages of 5 to 18.

    My son attends a public school in one of the top performing school districts in the state.

    What valuable policy lessons is he absorbing as he learns among the other sons and daughters of lawyers, bankers, and doctors that will give him a leg up if he ever education policy as a career?

    Are we seriously under the illusion that his curiosity about who pays for that pencil sharpener is being stoked right now into a fire that will rage when he comes of age, in a way that is now permanently beyond the reach of the kids attending, say, the inner-city Catholic schools in nearby Chicago?
     
    Dick Whitman, Sep 5, 2017
    #53342
  3. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    There is a reason the industry has never done that. The only reason for the industry to create that kind of license or certification, the way you are suggesting is if that license gave the holders a competitive advantage -- i.e. -- by certifying myself in some way that consumers believe makes my journalism more valuable, I can sell my stuff for more money. I would actually guess those kinds of certifications have been tried by various journalism organizations in the past, and there is a reason why they never achieved widespread adoption -- it doesn't offer enough of a competitive advantage.

    Ultimately, it is consumers that matter for this part of the equation, not what you or I think the industry needs. The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, New Yorker, Economist, etc. live or die by their reputations. A certification has never given them their reputations. Their actual work and track record did -- and continues to. If their standards drop, they will lose readers. When their work is particularly good, they gain readers. It's not coincidence, for example, that the Washington Post and New York Times have seen subscriptions and revenues and income take off over the last half year. They have done really good work speaking truth to power (i.e. -- the various Trump stories they have broken). If they stop doing that or they drop the ball with a lot of discredited stories, they will just as easily lose all of those readers.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 5, 2017
    #53343
  4. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Q2 2017 Ratings: Fox News is the Most-Watched Cable News Network for 62 Straight Quarters
     
    Dick Whitman, Sep 5, 2017
    #53344
  5. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    Just to clarify, I'm not talking about certifying news organizations. I'm talking about certifying individual "journalists."
     
    MisterCreosote, Sep 5, 2017
    #53345
  6. KeyboardKing

    KeyboardKing New Member

    How tough is the certification exam to walk the sidelines Friday night?
     
    KeyboardKing, Sep 5, 2017
    #53346
    HanSenSE and BitterYoungMatador2 like this.
  7. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Society says Yes.
     
    Songbird, Sep 5, 2017
    #53347
  8. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    DeVos shouldn't be in charge of public education for many reasons, but primarily because she is decidedly against public education and in fact has involved herself to great degrees with entrepreneurs who seek to funnel federal education dollars to privatize education. People who get involved in such rent-seeking activities are often labeled crony capitalists.

    Fact is, DeVos is a sleazy, cynical crony capitalist who was born well, married well and has never worked for a damn thing in her life. She's absolutely unfit for the position on a number of levels and seems to see her job as dismantling public education.
     
    cranberry, Sep 5, 2017
    #53348
    UPChip, BadgerBeer, Johnny Dangerously and 6 others like this.
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    It's part and parcel of the same thing.

    If you create that certification programs and go out and sell it, my guess is that it won't gain widespread adoption. There is no incentive to get certified unless it offers a competitive advantage that consumers see as valuable and are willing to pay up for. Do you think that is likely? If so, then sure, go out and start a certification program, sell it hard and see what kind of adoption it gets.

    The alternative would be to force journalists to get certified, in which case, we don't have a free press. We would have a regulated press -- it is antithetical to the bill of rights. I think that is a crazy barn door to want to open. I also find it arrogant, if the idea is to make it mandatory under the law. Even if it doesn't get used in a despotic way (which is a near certainty if the past is prelude to the future), you'd have people who have the power and the authority that comes with that power, imposing their various "standards" on others. That is just wrong when we are talking about information, ideas, opinions, etc.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 5, 2017
    #53349
  10. dixiehack

    dixiehack Well-Known Member

    Trump likes saviors who didn't get crucified.
     
    dixiehack, Sep 5, 2017
    #53350
    BTExpress likes this.
  11. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    I already said the hard part is attaining the credibility necessary to make the whole thing work. But it DOES work in a lot of different industries. There's no earthly reason it can't work with journalism.

    You're responding to an imaginary post.
     
    MisterCreosote, Sep 5, 2017
    #53351
  12. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    Its back to 3.
     
    poindexter, Sep 5, 2017
    #53352
    YankeeFan likes this.
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