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Dominic Cummings further revelations

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    Originally posted by Old Greg View Post
    Because I'm not a journalist, in my opinion.

    If someone asks me whether I'm a journalist, I would consider the answer 'No' to be more truthful than the answer 'Yes'. Do you think that the truthful answer in 'Yes', and in fact irrefutably 'Yes'?

    You / he/ she is in your opinion not a journalist, that seems to be the thrust of yours and others positions.

    However by the dictionary & experts definitions you are. The truth is you satisfied the criteria so you are a journalist in fact. You may not be a good journalist or a professional one.

    I wouldn't get "Old Smeg journalist" put on you business cards yet!


    People do so let their emotions get in the way of facts, it is tiresome.
    Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

    Comment


      Originally posted by vetran View Post
      You / he/ she is in your opinion not a journalist, that seems to be the thrust of yours and others positions.

      However by the dictionary & experts definitions you are. The truth is you satisfied the criteria so you are a journalist in fact. You may not be a good journalist or a professional one.

      I wouldn't get "Old Smeg journalist" put on you business cards yet!


      People do so let their emotions get in the way of facts, it is tiresome.
      So you think that if somebody asks me if I am a journalist, I should say, 'Yes' rather than 'No'?

      Would that still be true if I wrote this article once a decade, rather than once a year?

      Comment


        Originally posted by Old Greg View Post
        So you think that if somebody asks me if I am a journalist, I should say, 'Yes' rather than 'No'?

        Would that still be true if I wrote this article once a decade, rather than once a year?

        are you a virgin?
        Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

        Comment


          Originally posted by vetran View Post
          are you a virgin?
          That's Bean you're thinking about (not in that way I hope).

          But virginity / not virginity (as they are typically understood) is black and white. It is a status that is triggered by an event.

          Let's compare this with being a journalist (and for the sake of this argument we'll use a very narrow definition based around writing newspaper news articles).

          Someone is not a journalist because they have once written a newspaper new article, and then they are a journalist forever.

          But now you answer my question from before: if I write one article every decade, should I answer "Yes", to the question, "Are you a journalist?"

          Comment


            Originally posted by Old Greg View Post
            That's Bean you're thinking about (not in that way I hope).

            But virginity / not virginity (as they are typically understood) is black and white. It is a status that is triggered by an event.

            Let's compare this with being a journalist (and for the sake of this argument we'll use a very narrow definition based around writing newspaper news articles).

            Someone is not a journalist because they have once written a newspaper new article, and then they are a journalist forever.

            But now you answer my question from before: if I write one article every decade, should I answer "Yes", to the question, "Are you a journalist?"

            That is your opinion, it is not shared by the experts. You were a journalist at the time, it is a qualification you have acquired. Its a yes/no status.

            The problem with your question is that certain things are implied. The question you should be asking is "are you a professional journalist?". The answer to that is obviously no.

            If you have a Doctorate you are normally permitted by convention to prefix with Dr. however if someone asked if you were a doctor you may well reply "yes of mathematics" you have to explain to avoid confusion it but the doctorate itself does not expire.

            If you want to be a medical doctor you need to hold a current registration, no such distinction is required for a journalist.

            To be identified as a member of the press which gives certain legal protections you may need to join the NUJ or similar.
            Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

            Comment


              Originally posted by vetran View Post
              That is your opinion, it is not shared by the experts. You were a journalist at the time, it is a qualification you have acquired. Its a yes/no status.
              You have no idea what the experts would say about the particular example I give.

              What you are now saying is that I was a journalist at the time. At what time? When precisely did I start and stop being a journalist?

              Comment


                Originally posted by Old Greg View Post
                You have no idea what the experts would say about the particular example I give.

                What you are now saying is that I was a journalist at the time. At what time? When precisely did I start and stop being a journalist?

                I have posted what the experts said so yes I do know.



                Were = have been this previously

                Are = am doing currently. So if you write a news article for a newspaper (satisfying the Dictionary & experts criteria) every year and expect to continue this then you are a journalist. You may not be just a journalist or even a very good one.



                Here is an educational material that may help you understand how you can be more than one thing at once:



                oh look I am an educator








                educator

                /ˈɛdʒʊkeɪtə/
                Learn to pronounce




                noun
                [COLOR=#878787 !important]noun: educator; plural noun: educators[/COLOR]


                • a person who provides instruction or education; a teacher.
                  [COLOR=#878787 !important]"the perspective of a professional educator"[/COLOR]





                Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

                Comment


                  Originally posted by vetran View Post
                  I have posted what the experts said so yes I do know.



                  Were = have been this previously

                  Are = am doing currently. So if you write a news article for a newspaper (satisfying the Dictionary & experts criteria) every year and expect to continue this then you are a journalist. You may not be just a journalist or even a very good one.



                  Here is an educational material that may help you understand how you can be more than one thing at once:



                  oh look I am an educator





                  You don't know what the experts think at all. You have copied some definitions.

                  If you ask 20 experts on journalism...

                  "I write a short news article once a decade about a club I'm a member of, am I a journalist"

                  ...do you honestly think all 20 would give a definitive answer of "Yes"?

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by Old Greg View Post
                    You don't know what the experts think at all. You have copied some definitions.

                    If you ask 20 experts on journalism...

                    "I write a short news article once a decade about a club I'm a member of, am I a journalist"

                    ...do you honestly think all 20 would give a definitive answer of "Yes"?

                    You don't get out much do you?

                    If you ask 20 people their opinion they will all differ which is why we have dictionaries, articles from experts peer reviewed and training syllabuses.

                    Like it or not the word is defined and the various major organisations agree on the definition. Your opinion really doesn't count!
                    Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by vetran View Post
                      You don't get out much do you?

                      If you ask 20 people their opinion they will all differ which is why we have dictionaries, articles from experts peer reviewed and training syllabuses.

                      Like it or not the word is defined and the various major organisations agree on the definition. Your opinion really doesn't count!
                      You would struggle to find many experts who would think that the one article per decade scenario makes somebody a journalist.

                      Because, these questions are quite different:

                      "What is a journalist?"

                      and

                      "Am I a journalist?"

                      You cannot answer the latter by seeing if it fits the former. Unless of course you think that Transit vans are cars.

                      Because the dictionary and similar definitions use the simple present tense, e.g. someone who writes articles. The simple present tense implies what is habitual or typical.

                      Look at it this way:

                      Experts: A journalist is someone who writes newspaper articles.

                      Guy off street: I write a newspaper article every 10 years. (note use of simple present tense, but with time interval qualifier)

                      Expert A: "Then you're a journalist."
                      Expert B: "That's not often enough to make you a journalist"

                      Expert A and Expert B are both making defensible statements, but you cannot correctly say that one is definitively right and one is definitively wrong. They are each making a separate judgment as to whether you habitually write newspaper articles. It's a matter of opinion.

                      Comment

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