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Shoe throwing

April 08, 2009 1:02 PM

By Karen Russo

New Delhi, India - Whatever happened to objective journalism? Now we have journalists throwing objects.

Today another reporter threw a shoe at a politician during a press conference. This time, the man was allegedly angry about a confrontational exchange with India’s top security official.

The shoe did not hit India’s Home Minister P. Chidambaram, nor did it encourage the minister to answer the journalist’s question. The reporter was quickly taken into police custody and let go after questioning.

In recent months, political protestors have tossed shoes at President George W. Bush in Iraq and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Britain.

What’s going on here? Isn’t objectivity the first lesson in fourth estate? When did journalists become activists?

Throwing a shoe is an insult in some cultures, but it’s also a giveaway that some premeditation is involved. Untying shoelaces can take a little while. Isn’t it easier to chuck a pen or a microphone?

I remember being a young sports writer proudly displaying my press badge for the first time when my mentor pulled me aside before I entered Boston’s Fenway Park.

“There’s no cheering in the press box,” he said.

I’d heard the phrase a hundred times before, but he was serious and so were the other beat writers. I sometimes pursed my lips and feigned indifference as Pedro Martinez masterfully struck out the Yanks. When the national TV reporters would arrive at the end of the season to cover the playoffs, the writers would groan as the rules were ignored and the cheering began.

It’s not that I don’t have an opinion, it’s impossible not to. But cheering, clapping, yelling…it’s not acceptable. And in every other news venue, “no cheering in the press box” means checking your personal baggage – and shoes - at the door.

April 8, 2009 in Karen Russo | Permalink | User Comments (1)

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Posted by: Obama cabinet of corruption featuring TURBOTAX TIMMY | Apr 8, 2009 1:54:46 PM

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