Columnist for the alternative newspaper The Washington City Pages, Mr. David McKenna, sees a threat to professional journalism emerging from Commanders team owner Dan Syder's acquisition of Extremeskins.com, a fan site for the his team.
Mr. McKenna is not the first professional journalist to see the internet's threat to professional journalism. Dan Rather has seen it. His producer, Ms. Mary Mapes, has seen it. Eason Jordan has seen it. Indeed, that this threat exists is no secret.
Mr. McKenna's basic theory is that Mr. Snyder has acquired certain media concerns and has produced some shows, and thus harmed journalism, because it enables him to control criticism and punish those who level it. His most recent acquisition of a fan site has only furthered this harm for two reasons. One, front office personel who may or may not have particpated in ribald exchanges on the fansite could taint the team's image. And, two, becuase Mr. Snyder gave press passes to the site administrators who, at times, write and act like fans.
What Mr. Mckenna does not understand are many, various and fundamental. Mr. Snyder is a businessman. He does not produce television shows and buy fan sites and magazines to bash the media and to sully profesional journalism. He does so to make money off his team's name. He makes money off his team's name by keeping the fans energized and interested in his team. Mr. McKenna might as well take the farce one step further and pen an article about how Dan Snyder's distribution of Commanders ponchos constitutes an alarming threat to the fashion industry.
But Mr. McKenna makes his biggest mistake when he blurs the lines between paychecks, ribald content, control and the demise of journalism. In his wrold, Mr. Snyder pays professional journalists to appear on his show. He therefore controls them. Journalism then suffers. Mr. Snyder buys a fan site and gives a press pass to a site adminstrator. Journalism suffers as a result. The fact that ribald content appears on the fan site is only more proof that journalism may be harmed.
Well, it is a theory. Let's apply it to Mr. McKenna's paper, The Washington City Pages. The Washington City Pages gets paid by its advertizers. If it is like any one of the many other free alternative papers published in every major city accross the United States, pronographers account for a substantial portion of it advertizing revenue. (I could provide links to The Washington City Pages' adult content, but many children post on this board and there is a ban on linking to pornographic content.) Are we to assume that Mr. McKenna is controlled by pronographers because they help pay his meal ticket? Are we to assume that his journalism is somehow subpar because of his link to pornography? Are we to assume that members of The Washington City Pages front office tarnish the paper's image by assisting pornographers in peddling thier smut?
Mr. McKenna's last mistake stems from arrogance. Back in the day, alternative weeklies were criticised by the mainstream outlets for thier lack of journalism professionalism. But these alternatives offered content consumers found valuable. So some major print media outlets adapted by adding thier own weekend sections as magazines catering to it more alternative minded readers. As Voltaire said, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The weeklies got thier respect.
Mr. McKenna can recognize that journalism is changing and adapt. Or he can go the way of Dan Rather. The trite, condescending, and arrogant tone of his article should leave little doubt as to which road he has chosen.
