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I'm not typically a fan of celebrities straddling industries- crossing over from singing to dancing, acting to writing, reality starring to designing- for a few reasons. The move tends to stem purely from a craving for more money, even though the guilty parties often already have an obscene amount; more often than not, the celeb is not all that skilled in the area they're breaking into; and they're potentially using their name to crowd out individuals who've devoted their lives to getting good at what they do and are suddenly trampled on by big-money stars who've suddenly decided they want to "get into" something else.
I was reminded of my disdain for this practice over the past few days when singer Wyclef Jean decided he was running in the next Haitian presidential election and it was announced that former-NHLer Georges Laraque is the new Deputy Leader of the federal Green Party. Are you kidding me? While both guys may be capable of holding these positions and certainly have the pocket for them, they haven't yet proven themselves. To begin their political careers in such lofty positions seems absurd. While their celebrity will draw attention, so will their mistakes, ones that seem inevitable given their total lack of experience.
I was recently at a press conference. The topic was heated and reporters from various news outlets were loaded and ready to fire. All was flowing smoothly and swiftly until a man at the back of the room yelled "bullshit" during the media scrum, with regards to one of the answers given. The pr guys immediately ushered him out, and news soon spread that the guilty party was a lobbyist and blogger, vehemently opposed to the organization running the conference.
That immediately got me thinking about whether or not bloggers should be present at press conferences (notwithstanding technology-centered media conferences or bloggers who have legitimate media affiliations). With the continual growth of the "citizen journalist," capable of posting articles and commentary whenever they please, this is a question that I would imagine most organizations have already dealt with, or will soon be facing.
On the one hand, providing bloggers access to media conferences is giving them the tools necessary to produce honest pieces. It's also giving them an opportunity to develop a two-way relationship with the organization. On the other, giving bloggers free reign to press conferences is like opening the doors to the public, perhaps weakening the quality of questions asked and reducing the conference's legitimacy.
In this case, the latter was on display. Had the blogger asked sound questions and actively participated, he would have been welcomed, but his outburst combined with his decision to scoop two complimentary sandwiches off the table while being ushered out, simply does a disservice to quality bloggers everywhere.
