***Please broadcast request from S Clemons:

[elleng]

'Would appreciate private message from anyone who attended Friday INSA Dinner honoring fmr NSA Director Michael Hayden at Omni Shoreham.'

Posted @ FB + Twitter 8 minutes ago.

[OilemFirchen]

1. What a shame.

His public begging for background is embarrassing. Perhaps he should sleep it off.

[sabrina 1]

2. He is an excellent writer and has earned the credibility he has. This is journalism at work. It's

obvious why he is asking for that information and doing it openly, not in secret which is even better.

May I ask, what are your credentials, I KNOW Clemens' credentials, but was wondering why we should give any credibility to your opinion on his request for information?

Btw, have you ever seen America's Most Wanted?? Their 'public begging' has resulted in the capture of a whole lot of bad guys. Let's hope Clemens' will have the same result, I have a feeling it's making a few people pretty nervous.

[OilemFirchen]

3. He is a pretty good writer, with a well-deserved reputation.

That's why it's a shame. Journalists don't rush intuition onto social media, then pray that the general public can provide their alibi. There are standards, ya know?

I have no credentials.

Clemens isn't a cop.

[sabrina 1]

4. Actually journalists are on social media all the time, I follow many of them as you get previews

of the stories they are working on. Things have changed in the world of journalism. Clemens asking for info is not a shame, it is making use of a medium that has proven to be very productive in the gathering of information. So long as he thoroughly checks the sources of the info, he is doing nothing different to what journalists always have done.

[longship]

5. ^THIS^

The world has changed!

BTW, apparently it's Clemons, not Clemens. I made the same mistake earlier tonight.

Impressed by this guy. He's working it.

[OilemFirchen]

8. ^THIS^ is why 21st century journalism is shit.

Readers simply can no longer discern. It's a hack's market, for sure.

[longship]

12. Well, we'll see what he publishes about this.

Then we'll judge.

One of the problems of social media is that we get to see the sausage being made. One can criticize the making but the proof is in the final product.

You are criticizing the making here. Let's see what he finds out and publishes. Then, criticize.

And I agree that this is likely nothing. But inside the sausage factory, one follows a lead.

Patience helps. However, it won't stop some people from jumping to confusions... something else the 21st century journalists have to sort out.

However, rational people will see this for what it is.

[OilemFirchen]

15. Give me heads-up if I'm being impatient, OK?

This was breaking, breaking, breaking news a half-day ago. Urgent stuff. Must-read-Twitter-fodder.

Must... breathe... can't... hold... on... much... longer...

[OilemFirchen]

7. Sure, journos take to social media legitimately.

It's a means of communication, and it's perfectly appropriate. If, of course, they're reporting and if, of course, they're doing so according to the dictates of their profession. Otherwise, they're editorializing. Or gossiping.

In this case, Mr. Clemons is "reporting" something he intuited. He didn't source it. He didn't verify it. He simply shat it out of his nether regions. It's even doubtful that it's newsworthy, and, frankly, it's unlikely true.

In the very best of his scenarios, as I mentioned on another thread, he may well have broken something. However, were journalism the discipline it always used to be, that something would have been his reputation. No doubt he'll survive the indignation. More's the pity.

[Eddie Haskell]

18. "Journos take to social media legitimately"

They have to if they want to have a job. Newspapers can't afford real journalists anymore; so, right or wrong, everyone's competing to be first.

[pacalo]

14. I agree with all of your comments on this, sabrina.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

6. You should look into how Twitter works, how it lives and breathes

[OilemFirchen]

9. Thanks for the advice.

To return the favor, you should look into how journalism works. Or worked.

Here's a starter guide:

Who
What
When
Where
How
Why

[DisgustipatedinCA]

10. And thanks for that. It was just clear that you were talking about something

that you didn't completely understand.

[OilemFirchen]

11. Likewise

[dkf]

13. He already found someone to confirm the conversation.

I love the idea of we the people collaborating to expose the government.

[OilemFirchen]

16. Well, that seals it then.

I smell a Pulitzer!

[dkf]

17. Lol.