QUOTE(citydweller @ Feb 10 2007, 07:39 PM)
Justin's a good egg, generally speaking, and I believe that his statement is likely 100% accurate.
Which brings me back to being incredulous that his testimony didn't result in the immunity and prosecution coming out in reverse order. Kirchner should have been offered immunity to spill his guts and the reporters who actually broke the law should be facing charges, possibly along with an editor or two.
This is so f'd up that I can only assume that money changed hands somewhere, or other undue influence was excercised
I had dinner tonight with an old friend, a graduate of journalism school and a long time reporter (not a reporter anymore). He has worked for many newspapers, including, for a short time. Lancaster Newspapers.
I asked him about this password fiasco and he said something I thought was very enlightening, about the reporters and the editors.
He said, not judging or defending anyone, that, speaking as a reporter, it is not in the DNA of a reporter to not use access to information, even if that access is questionable, and confidential (i.e., using Kirchners password, however it was obtained), because that is what reporters do, find information.
However, it is the job of a reporter to let their editor know what they are doing and more importantly, it is definately the job if the editors to know what it is the reporters are doing, where it is they are getting their information, how they are getting it, and how they are crediting their sources in the stories they write.
He said his biggest conflict, had he been in those reporters shoes, was how to credit the information they were getting, in the stories they wrote, using the 911 information. And he certainly would have gone to his editors to try to resolve that conflict.
Since the reporters were clearly not crediting the 911 system, or Kirchner, as the source of their information, in their stories, what is the explanation from the reporters, and the editors? That there was an "understanding" that the use of the password was "authorized". If so, why not credit its use in the articles? Why keep it hush hush? Because they were not authorized to use it, nor were they authorized to enter the 911 system using the password and they knew it. That's why.
