2005年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-Slate's Big Idea: Who Should be Considere

This is Day to Day, I am Madeline Brand. There is an old thought from jounalist AJ. Liebling that freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one, well if that's true, then tens of millions of men and women in this country now own the modern equivalent of a press. It's a personal computer and a connection to the Internet. Bloggers can put their reporting or their opionions out for the whole world to see. But are they really journalists? And should they receive the protections afforded to more traditional journalists? These are questions taken up in a new essay by Slate¹'s editor Jacob Weisburg. He spoke² with Day to Day's Alex Chadwick.

Jacob, one of the big problems with defining who's a journalist is that you don't need a license³ to practise journalism⁴, you don't even need a degree, you don't really even need a steady job.

You're right, Alex. Journalists aren't specially⁵ trained as they will alway tell you or credentialed with license. It's more an activity than a profession. And there're a great many famous journalists such as the late great I.F. Stone, who essentially⁶ published a glorified⁷ newsletter from his house and with an independent operator much like a blogger without a blog. But now there're hundreds of thousands of citizens who're essentially practising journalism in every style and at every level of scale and talent because it's so easy to do so with the Internet.

You can't really even tell the difference anymore between a journalist and a non-journalist on the basis of "Are you operating solely⁸ on the Internet?", because both Slate, in your own instance, and Salon⁹, and other publications are only online. But no one disputes that this is real journalism that takes place there.

Well, I hope that's true. I actually think one of the great things the Internet has done is break down the barrier between amateurs and professionals in journalism. Today, if you think you're a journalist, you are a journalist. And the key point is that the First Amendment¹⁰ Right of freedom of the press belongs to anybody who practises the activity of journalism, however and wherever they do it.

Well, what about this case here in California where Apple Computer has subpoenaed¹¹ three bloggers, who it claims, reported (er) trade secrets on their blogs. And here it makes a big difference whether they're journalists or not. They claim that they're journalists and they shouldn't be forced to reveal their sources. Apple says they aren't really journalists, they are information disseminators.

That's right. California is one of the states that has a shield law which creates a kind of privilege for reporters to protect confidential¹² sources. They're different in different states. But these bloggers say they should be covered by it. The problem is that if it covers everyone, it becomes essentially unusable. And that's the big problem now with shield laws. Both the ones that're already on the books in a lot of states and the federal one that a lot of journalists and media/ institutions think that either the courts or Congress should create.

So, if anyone who writes a broadcast for the public can be considered a journalist, what does that mean for the laws that apply to reporters? Should bloggers fall under them or not?

Well, I think, I think bloggers are journalists. They certainly should fall under these laws wherever they exist. But I think, in reality, the way bloggers are now operating, and what's happened in journalism in the last ten years, probably make shield laws much more practically useful. I do think there are other ways to protect the right of the press to gather information and the right of the public to know.

Opinion and analysis from Jacob Weisburg. He is editor of our online partner magazine Slate. You'll find his essay "Who Is A Journalist?" at slate.com. Jacob, thanks.

Thank you, Alex.

I'm Alex Chadwick.

1 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

4 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

5 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

8 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

9 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

10 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

11 subpoenaed   

v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court subpoenaed her to appear as a witness. 法庭传唤她出庭作证。
• The finance director is subpoenaed by prosecution. 财务经理被检查机关传讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。