{"id":720,"date":"2007-08-12T12:41:51","date_gmt":"2007-08-12T19:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=720"},"modified":"2007-12-08T15:16:31","modified_gmt":"2007-12-08T22:04:31","slug":"phil-jacobs-phony-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=720","title":{"rendered":"Phil Jacobs Phony Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.jewishtimes.com\/index.php\/jewishtimes\/philjacobs\/\">Phil Jacobs, editor in chief of the Baltimore Jewish Times, blogs<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p> There are no &ldquo;henchmen&rdquo; out there getting in my way to investigate individuals or institutions.<\/p>\n<p>I am not under anybody&rsquo;s &ldquo;thumb&rdquo; to prevent the writing of stories on certain rabbis in town who are under suspicion of past sexual molestation.<\/p>\n<p>So for those bloggers who feel that the have &ldquo;inside&rdquo; information as to the progress of any one investigation in progress. You don&rsquo;t. All you are doing is creating hysteria and panic.<\/p>\n<p>I ask you to let the truth set us free on these issues. It will be the truth that brings any further information to the forefront.<\/p>\n<p>Rest assured, I am working on collecting the truth. But it is of no help to me if you take license with what I am doing and spread it as if it were gospel.<\/p>\n<p>Bloggers, if you want to know what is going on with a particular investigation, simply pick up the phone and call me. I will be happy to share with you what I may.<\/p>\n<p>I&rsquo;m not being secretive, nor am I taking my time out of any kind of fear.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I repeatedly tried to talk to Phil Jacobs in 2004 and 2005. He always blew me off.<\/p>\n<p>Jacobs reminds me of his mentor Gary Rosenblatt.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/profiles\/profiles\/gary_rosenblatt.htm\">From my April 1, 2005 report<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thejewishweek.com\/top\/editcolcontent.php3\">Gary Rosenblatt writes in The Jewish Week<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Though I am getting used to it, I still find it disconcerting to read            about myself &ndash;&ndash; and my journalistic motivations &mdash; on Internet blogs,            especially because more often than not the information isn&rsquo;t accurate.            Various writers, often anonymous, claim to know what investigative stories            I am working on, or not working on, and why, or why not, though none            of them have ever asked me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I was started to feel bad for Gary until I remembered my experience with          him. My time interviewing Gary might as well have been spent talking to          a wood block. What&#8217;s the point of accountability if you refuse to answer          any question that causes you discomfort?<\/p>\n<p>I gave Gary every opportunity to answer various damaging reports about          him. Gary wouldn&#8217;t. He wouldn&#8217;t answer any tough questions. He begged          off of every single one.<\/p>\n<p>So excuse me if I shed no tears over his hurt feelings. Excuse me if          I afford no respect to his latest cries. Excuse me if my most vivid experience          with Gary is him constantly saying, I&#8217;d rather not answer that.<\/p>\n<p>When push came to shove, Gary was not accountable. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/profiles\/profiles\/gary_rosenblatt.htm\">Read          my profile of him and make up your own mind.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In case Gary forgets, here are some questions he refused to answer:<\/p>\n<p>* Why did he muzzle his best investigative reporter (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/profiles\/profiles\/larry_cohler.htm\">Larry          Cohler<\/a>) and refuse to publish for 18-months Larry&#8217;ss revelations about          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/profiles\/profiles\/malcolm_hoenlein.htm\">Malcolm Hoenlein&#8217;s slush          fund<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>* Why does he refuse to publish <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/profiles\/profiles\/yosef_abramowitz.htm\">Yossi          Abramowitz<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>* Why has Gary never apologized for the way he had Yossi treated when          he came in with his JNF scoop?<\/p>\n<p>Gary&#8217;s lead paragraph is a lie. I am a blogger and I asked Gary numerous          questions, including questions about stories he was working on. JWB has          also corresponded with Gary on these matters.<\/p>\n<p>Gary&#8217;s primary question about blogs (and JWB in particular) is: Are they          good journalism? This is a stupid question. It&#8217;s like asking if a telephone          is good journalism. Blogs and phones are simply ways people communicate.          The most important question to ask about blogs and writing is: Is it good?          Does it have merit?<\/p>\n<p>Journalism is a procedure. Merit is a destination. In this case, the          destination is more important than the journey.<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by Gary&#8217;s column, I called him at 2:45pm EST to ask him such          basic questions as the ones I raise in this essay. He was out to lunch.          So I left my questions on his voicemail.<\/p>\n<p>Gary writes: &quot;Over the years in this profession I&rsquo;ve gotten thicker          skin, but there are people whose lives are more private than mine whose          reputations and character are maligned in these reports. They have no          one to turn to in order to set the record straight, and that&rsquo;s just not          right.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Gary provides no evidence to back up his assertions. I guess Gary is          so mighty, he doesn&#8217;t need to bother with such details as evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Gary writes: &quot;What bothers me, though, is that in this still emerging          field, there is no accountability and there are no professional standards          to be met. In the rush to get a story out first, the emphasis is on timeliness          rather than accuracy, with seemingly little regard &ndash;&ndash; or responsibility          &ndash;&ndash; for printing rumors or theories that are untrue. So people who are          mentioned and maligned by an anonymous blogger have no recourse.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Again, Gary provides no evidence and no examples to substantiate his          charges. I guess this is the type of lazy writing you can get away with          when you edit and publish a lazy newspaper filled with mediocre writing.          The whole thing is so blah, who&#8217;s going to notice that the editor and          publisher is making a lot of charges without substantiating them.<\/p>\n<p>To rework a Gary Rosenblatt sentence in his latest blog, I mean column:          &quot;There is something very appealing about having one&rsquo;s own newspaper.          It&rsquo;s easy to do, in this particular column it costs you no work in having          to interview people with whom you might disagree, and before you know          it, you can be sitting at the office and pontificating on any and all          topics for all the world to read, even if you&#8217;ve made no exertion to substantiate          your points.&quot; Sweet.<\/p>\n<p>Gary writes: &quot;I wouldn&rsquo;t seek legal or medical advice from an amateur          attorney or physician who insisted on remaining nameless, yet there are          countless people reading blogs on the Web by would-be journalists whose          reports go unsubstantiated and unedited, and the results are often hurtful,          damaging people&rsquo;s characters and reputations.&quot;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/slate.msn.com\/id\/2115883\/\">Gary sounds like another tired          old clapped-out journalist &#8212; David Shaw<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Gary writes: &quot;More upsetting are the bloggers who criticize individuals          by name, make accusations against rabbis and communal leaders, but don&rsquo;t          have the guts to identify themselves, or bother to interview the people          they write about.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Gee, that sounds just like Gary Rosenblatt. He wrote a column about Jewish          Whistleblower and company, but didn&#8217;t bother to interview the people he          wrote about.<\/p>\n<p>Gary writes: &quot;To demand full disclosure of others without identifying          one&rsquo;s self seems the height of chutzpah and hypocrisy to me.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, it is just like asking a baseball writer to hit a 100mph fastball          before he&#8217;s allowed to write about baseball. Gary uses anonymous sourcing          when it suits him. He gives voice to the agendas of people he allows to          remain anonymous.<\/p>\n<p>Gary writes: &quot;Call me old-fashioned, but I still think you do your          best work if your reputation is on the line every time you write.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Gary&#8217;s been phoning it in for years. His reputation in journalism rests          almost entirely on work he did years ago, rather than the stuff he&#8217;s done          in the past few years. He has a cushy job where he&#8217;s subsidized by the          Jewish Federation buying most of his newspapers. He can keep his cushy          job as long as he keeps playing ball with the machers. Gary is a far better          player of Jewish politics than he is an editor.<\/p>\n<p>Given the comparative magnitude of Gary&#8217;s resources, the big story about          him is that he, week in and week out, publishes a dull paper. And when          you put your name on mediocrity, it doesn&#8217;t make it anything more than          mediocre. It&#8217;s nothing more than <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/profiles\/profiles\/luke_ford\/book\/yesterday.htm\">Yesterday&#8217;s          News Tomorrow<\/a>, which, more often than not, is precisely what The Jewish          Week reads like if you keep up with the top five Jewish blogs (<a href=\"http:\/\/jewishwhistleblower.blogspot.com\/\">JWB<\/a>,          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloghd.blogspot.com\/\">Miriam and Paul Shaviv<\/a>,          <a href=\"http:\/\/chakira.blog-city.com\/\">Chakira<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.failedmessiah.com\/\">Scott          Rosenberg<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.campusj.com\/\">Steven I. Weiss<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>If <a href=\"http:\/\/jewishwhistleblower.blogspot.com\/\">Jewish Whistle          Blower<\/a> (JWB) develops an impressive track record of accurate reporting,          then his work is still sterling even if JWB doesn&#8217;t put his real name          on it.<\/p>\n<p>It is more important in these types of discussion that we concentrate          on what is good rather than on what is &quot;good journalism.&quot; It          is less important that JWB might not live up to the protocols of journalism          than to evaluate his work as a whole for its merit. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/profiles\/profiles\/essays\/contents\/jewishj.htm\">Most          Jewish weeklies are journalistically sound but dull timid affairs.<\/a>          JWB might not be journalistically sound (I&#8217;m not arguing one way or another          on this), but his work is often timely and ground-breaking.<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by Gary&#8217;s column, I decided to ask the subject of this essay          a question. I emailed Gary:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>If interviewing the people you write about is so important, how come            you made no attempt to interview Jewish Whistleblower? Your article            indicates no attempt to interview any leading Jewish blogger and include            their views. I guess they are not worthy. (Yeah, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thejewishweek.com\/news\/newscontent.php3?artid=9627\">I            saw DNC&#8217;s article on bloggers nine months ago, it broke no new ground<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I guess Gary&#8217;s rules of good journalism don&#8217;t apply to Gary.<\/p>\n<p>I guess he&#8217;s not as open to being questioned by bloggers as he pretended.          Gary did not return my email or my phone call. I guess Gary&#8217;s plaintive          complaint about bloggers, &quot;none of them have ever asked me,&quot;          was just a pose.<\/p>\n<p>Has Gary ever given a good interview? I can&#8217;t find one.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/dovbear.blogspot.com\/2005\/03\/quiet-down-gary.html\">Dov          Bear writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I think Gary is out to lunch on this one. JWB is entitled to his anonymity            and to his style. The fact of the matter is that it is not JWB&#8217;s job            to be responsible, or nuanced, or to think about whether his posts are            productive or dangerous, or cogent, or even defensible.<\/p>\n<p>Gary&#8217;s objections are the sort of criticisms one might make of, say,            a journalist, someone whose job description includes being responsible            about what he says in public. JWB, however, is not a journalist?he is            an entertainer. Or maybe it&#8217;s better to say that he, like all bloggers,            is part of a peculiar, modern, and very popular type of news industry,            one that manages to enjoy the influence of journalism without the stodgy            constraints of fairness, objectivity, and responsibility that make trying            to tell the truth such a drag for everyone involved.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Shimon Rosenthal writes:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Mr. Rosenblatt claims that bloggers are unfair and dishonest because            they do not print their names. He implies that he and the rest of his            print journalist colleagues are honest and fair because they posts their            names on their articles. The argument is so flawed and filled with contradiction            that it is difficult to know where to begin.<\/p>\n<p>A journalist is fair and honest because they sign their names to their            stories. But what about the stories they do not print? A print journalist            can hold a story for his own interest. That is corrupt and unethical,            no matter how many other stories he assigns his name to. Sins of omission            are no lesser crimes or abuses of the journalistic ethic than sins of            commission.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Rosenblatt for example will never write negatively about anything            to do with the Federation system. Why? Because UJA NY sends free copies            of the Jewish Week to all its members, thereby increasing Mr. Rosenblatt&#8217;s            circulation and his ad revenue far beyond anything he could dream of            otherwise. So, when Mr. Rosenblatt, the dean of Jewish journalism, fails            to write a story about the Federation system, but signs his name to            another story, is he behaving ethically? Mr. Rosenblatt would not know            of this, because he is an honorable man.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Mr. Rosenblatt covered up a story about a tremendous government            fine levied against him and the Jewish Week. Had Mr. Rosenblatt believed            in reporting the news or his obligation to the community, if he were            truly fair and honest, he would have printed a story to show the community            what happens to those people who abuse financial systems. The New York            Times put the Jason Blair fiasco front and center. Mr. Rosenblatt hid            his scandal while claming to uncover others. But surely, Mr. Rosenblatt            is an honorable man.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Rosenblatt&#8217;s diatribe against bloggers is nothing more than a pathetic            attempt by a third class journalist to pick a fight with a developing            new medium.<\/p>\n<p>An educated person would tell Mr. Rosenblatt that anonymously written            leaflets were a tremendous part of the early newspaper business. In            fact, anonymously written papers were the norm and a critical component            of early political life in this country. Surely, Mr. Rosenblatt knows            this, for he is an educated and honorable man. Mr. Rosenblatt is more            educated and honorable than Dr. Benjamin Franklin, because Dr. Franklin            took to writing anonymously. Mr. Rosenblatt is a greater thinker than            Thomas Jefferson, because the third president and drafter of the Declaration            of Independence, wrote anonymously.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Rosenblatt is more honest than Mr. Madison who, as it happens wrote            anonymously. I am sure no one will argue that Mr. Rosenblatt would have            made a far superior president than Abraham Lincoln who wrote anonymously.            I have no doubt that the Federalist Papers were written by men of low            moral character because they too were written anonymously. I am sure            no one will argue that Mr. Rosenblatt would have made a far superior            president than Abraham Lincoln who wrote anonymously. I have no doubt            that the Federalist Papers were written by men of low moral character            because they too were written anonymously. But don&rsquo;t worry, Mr. Rosenblatt            is an honorable man.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Rosenblatt also makes the false assertion that a person signing            their name to something cannot be unethical, or careless with the facts.            You need only read his paper to know that that is certainly nor the            case. Mr. Rosenblatt cannot point to a single issue of the Jewish Week            that contained no bias, agenda or false assertion.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Rosenblatt also fails to note the contradiction inherent when one            puts his argument against his practice. If someone who does not sign            their names to something is more apt to be careless with facts and details,            then why does the Jewish Week publish stories with anonymous quotes?            But don&rsquo;t blame him, Mr. Rosenblatt is an honorable man.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Rosenblatt suffers from an ailment common to many self righteous            people of his generation. He believes that the world began the day he            was born and that all was invented under his watch. He believes he can            do no wrong and that it is his job to point to the failings of those            who do not follow his way, professionally, religiously, philosophically            or any other ly you would like. His is a special breed of arrogance            and stupidity that is reserved for those who believe they are big fish            because they live in an incredibly small fishbowl.<\/p>\n<p>Blogging is an evolving medium, just like newspapers were once. Ethics            and standards will emerge. But to dismiss someone, their facts or their            opinions for omitting their names while other people do not is wrong.            But then again, Mr. Rosenblatt would not know what it is like to be            wrong.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Jewish Week paid a fine of less than a million dollars for abuse          of mailing privileges. The details about the fine are public record and          should be found at the New York Attorney General&#8217;s office.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bloghd.blogspot.com\/2005\/03\/gary-rosenblatt-vs-jewishwhistleblower.html\">JWB          writes to Miriam Shaviv<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Frankly, I don&#8217;t care if people criticize me. I could delete every            such post on my blog, yet I do not.<\/p>\n<p>Some quick notes:<br \/>\n1) Rosenblatt never contacted me by e-mail or clarified any of his claims            about me or my blog or asked me any questions. He made very clear he            was referring to my blog but did not name it.<\/p>\n<p>2) Rosenblattt is more than welcome to comment on my blog. If he emails            me a response, I would be prepared to post it uncensored. He can even            choose the title. I have been given no such courtesy.<\/p>\n<p>3) I have never claimed to be &quot;a Jewish reporting blog&quot;. I make no claim            to be a journalist. Perhaps if certain court decisions find blogging            to be journalism then I might.<\/p>\n<p>4)&gt;I still find it disconcerting to &gt;read about myself &ndash;&ndash; and my &gt;journalistic            motivations<\/p>\n<p>I never claimed to know Rosenblatt&#8217;s motivations other than to improve            the community and report factual stories. My criticism was in regard            to a number of stories he either killed, chose not to pursue, kept quiet            at the request of senior RCA offcials and one story where I felt he            &quot;soft-balled&quot; the story.<\/p>\n<p>I have consistently defended Rosenblatt in many posts concerning people            who attacked his motivations and in particular his Lanner story, which            I believe was some of the finest journalism..<\/p>\n<p>5)<br \/>\n&gt;Various writers, often anonymous, &gt;claim to know what investigative            &gt;stories I am working on, or not &gt;working on, and why, or why not, &gt;though            none of them have ever asked &gt;me. <\/p>\n<p>I have actually been in contact with Rosenblatt and people around him.            In a series of emails, Rosenblatt actually did indicate to me why he            would not pursue a story. I would further note that the stories I have            criticized him for not pursuing (rabbi who wrote racist articles in            a white supremist journal, principal with long history of child molestation            etc.), I have quoted from articles and editorials written by Rosenblatt            that state\/allude to exactly what I claim.<\/p>\n<p>6) The unfortunate situation is that when Jewish victims\/survivors are            looking for help in the media they are almost always directed to Rosenblatt.            Although he was very kind and professional with victims of Rabbis Lanner            and Weinberg, there is a lack of attention or courtesy that he has displayed            in other situations where there were desperate vulnerable people who            thought he would help. My concern is that if he has journalistic standards            in this area of reporting that differ from the mainstream media be upfront.            I have noted in the past that the standards he applies to abuse stories            were applied in the general media, there would be no catholic church            abuse scandal.<\/p>\n<p>7) This is part of my ongoing criticism of the Jewish community institutions            that still provide nowhere for victims or sexual abuse\/exploitation            to go and no resources.<\/p>\n<p>I did privately criticize Rosenblatt in a private email (which was            a response to an unsolicited email from him, which involved an email            I had sent to his mentor which was of course forwarded without my consent            to Rosenblatt, everyone ultimatley gets forwarded to Rosenblatt as so            many reporters don&#8217;t want to touch these sort of stories) several years            ago on this exact matter. I had been in contact with Rosenblatt on a            similar subject months earlier and realized he had no interest pursuing            the story as he has his unique standards for such stories which as I            told him at the time served no purpose other than to protect people            with documented histories of sexually abusing particularly young children.<\/p>\n<p>Jewish law does not permit me to put my life and my family&#8217;s lives            in danger when it is unnecessary. In this situation, I believe I can            do a lot more good behind the scenes through my blog.<\/p>\n<p>Miriam [Shaviv], when you choose to do hard hitting stories about corruption            from the community you came from, I will take your evaluation more seriously            (ie: the defunct Toronto Jewish Boys&#8217; choir, look into it).<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t claim to be a journalist. Rosenblatt does. If he has criticism            of me, why didn&#8217;t he try to contact me? He looked at my profile, where            an email address is featured. And yet he accuses me of not &quot;&#8230;bother[ing]            to interview the people they write about&quot;.<\/p>\n<p>I most certaily did address my criticism of his journalistic standards            (in relation to sexual abuse stories) to him directly. He on the other            hand has not done what he preaches.<\/p>\n<p>I confirm he sent me no email in relation to my blog.<\/p>\n<p>Paul [Shaviv], when you start addressing people in your own community            and profession that have histories in this area, I will no longer be            necessary. I don&#8217;t see you posting about the defunct Toronto Jewish            Boys&#8217; choir or naming names.<\/p>\n<p>Of course if you do so, you will be hauled to beis dins, have your            name plastered in flyers, your parnasah destroyed, you will be put in            cherem and your grandchildren&#8217;s shiduch opportunities impacted.<\/p>\n<p>Paul, Miriam, put your own house in order. You want a real news story?            Track down what happened with this choir. Put together how many of your            great community leaders keep this shameful episode secret and protected            the predator involved at the expense of victims and how many young men            associated with Pirchei are no longer alive (suicides, drug related            deaths, etc.) paying the price for your community&#8217;s secret shame and            silence.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Paul Shaviv responds to JWB:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>1. JWB: Acountability and transparency are 2-way streets, and they            apply to you as much as anyone else. I would, again, feel reassured            if you at least acknowledged that in the London case, a number of your            facts were WRONG.<\/p>\n<p>2. You are questioning my own actions and responsibilities. As I wrote            at an early stage, I have dealt with a number of cases of professional            misconduct over the years. I just don&#8217;t publish the details.<\/p>\n<p>3. I have no knowledge whatever of the Toronto case youa re talking            about.<\/p>\n<p>4. Your last (6:26) posting talks about the effect \/ reaction on people            who publish names etc, and the awful consequences that they risk. But            isn&#8217;t that exactly what you have done to the teacher in London?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>JWB responds:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>You probably don&#8217;t know of other situations in Toronto: 1. A gang rape            at a local Yeshiva not reported by the headmaster to the authorities.            2. A Yeshiva where several teachers were quietly told to leave town            rather than reporting them to the police. 3. A married board member            of a Jewish student organization that has a known history of making            unwanted passes at young men.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sultanknish.blogspot.com\/2005\/04\/bloghead-vs-jewish-whistleblower.html\">Sultan_Knish          writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8230;Rosenblatt is the last to talk about accountability while working            for a newspaper that serves as the organ of the corrupt UJA or whatever            alphabet soup the federations go by these days. The Jewish Week only            does investigations when it comes to smearing orthodox jews not when            it comes to accountability at home. If a UJA official began abusing            half the population of Cleverland it would never be seen in The Jewish            Week.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly there&#8217;s a tradition of reporters working anonymously and undercover.            Many of the news stories you see in your newspaper go unsigned as well.            Unlike Roseblatt, JW isn&#8217;t funded by money intended to go to charity            and you don&#8217;t have to read him or agree with him. He&#8217;s one voice. He            does not claim to represent anyone but himself. And a lot of the &#8216;accusations&#8217;            he&#8217;s accused of wildly making are in fact news stories from mainstream            media outlets produced by reporters with names attached to them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sultanknish.blogspot.com\/2005\/04\/those-amazing-anonymous-journalist.html\">Sultan_Knish          writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Plenty of compulsive liars, for example Bill and Hillary Clinton, go            by their own names. It does not interfere in any way with their chosen            career of compulsive lying. People are judged by their track records            and that indeed is the only way anyone can be judged, whether they give            their name or not.<\/p>\n<p>That my grocer has a name does not matter to me nearly so much as that            I know from past experience the quality of his wares. With journalists            too, it does not matter what they call themselves so long as there is            a consistent name and identity along with a track record.<\/p>\n<p>His critics cite accountability but what does accountability for a            freelance blogger who is not doing this for commercial reasons? He has            a consistent identity and that identity and his reputation is accountable.            No further professional accountability is possible since his reputation            is his profession. Personal accountability however is but that is not            a credible argument that someone is not a legitimate reporter unless            they expose themselves to personal harrassment.<\/p>\n<p>Journalists who operate in the Orthodox community and live within it,            particularly excluding the Modern Orthodox Community, face an environment            where investigative journalism is tarred as mosering or lashon hara            and where social reputation for a family is everything and where everyone            knows instances of corruption but no one speaks out because leaders            and Rabbanim may not be questioned.<\/p>\n<p>The blog is the future of Orthodox Jewish journalism. It is anonymous            and it synthesizes sources and information and throws in gossip and            rumor into the mix too. It opens up sources of information that were            closed because no one has a face.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sultanknish.blogspot.com\/2005\/04\/professional-journalists-vs-amateur.html\">Sultan_Knish          writes<\/a>: &quot;But what is the difference between a professional journalist          and an amateur blogger? Yes there&#8217;s the office and the fat UJA funds derived          salary and getting invited to dinners in your own honor.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>5\/13\/05<\/p>\n<p>I email Phil Jacobs, Editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Early this year, you saw the tape of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/profiles\/profiles\/vicki_polin.htm\">Vicki            Polin&#8217;s controversial May 1, 1989 appearance on the Oprah Show<\/a> as            &quot;Rachel.&quot; Why did you not write about that? What was not newsworthy            about that?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>According to a source who&#8217;s spoken to Phil Jacobs about this, Phil says          he has been inundated with stories and the other responsiblitiesof being          the editor of a paper. He just hasn&#8217;t had time to do the research involved          in doing this story. He knows that Vicki wouldn&#8217;t talk to another reporter          at his paper. He put Vicki on his list of articles to write, and hasn&#8217;t          gotten to it yet.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Phil should pay me to do the research and write this story for          his august publication?<\/p>\n<p>I email Gary Rosenblatt at The Jewish Week:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>How long have you known that Vicki Polin was the &quot;Rachel&quot; in the infamous            May 1, 1989 Oprah show? Why haven&#8217;t you written about it?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Gary has known that Vicki was the infamous &quot;Rachel&quot; for at          least five months, and possibly for years. There was no mention of this          in his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishweek.org\/news\/newscontent.php3?artid=9227\">paper&#8217;s          3\/26\/04 profile of Vicki.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--adsense--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phil Jacobs, editor in chief of the Baltimore Jewish Times, blogs: There are no &ldquo;henchmen&rdquo; out there getting in my way to investigate individuals or institutions. I am not under anybody&rsquo;s &ldquo;thumb&rdquo; to prevent the writing of stories on certain &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=720\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[167],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jewish-journalism"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}