On NBC's Meet The Press on Sunday, host David Gregory asked Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald (who has been publishing leaks via former National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden) "who is a journalist" and if the fact that Greenwald "aided and abetted" Snowden might make him deserving of criminal charges. Greenwald argued his publication of the secrets was no different than any journalist's relationship with sources. The exchange spurred a significant debate in the craft about the fairness of the question and the issues involved in the Greenwald-Snowden relationship. NYU scholar Jay Rosen explores the matter and concludes that Gregory doesn't value advocacy journalism. Andrew Beaujon looks at the scuffle inside the craft for Poynter today.
A report today in the Wall Street Journal indicates Facebook is working on a newspaper-like application for mobile users. It would convert content from users and publishers into a format, tentatively called Reader, that looks a bit like the tablet app Flipboard. The report notes Facebook's recent efforts to broaden its reach and LinkedIn's recent acquisition of Pulse to enter the mobile publishing field. Laura Hazard Owen, writing for paidContent, suggests the content will be curated based on trends and custom-delivered.
At last week's Global Editors Network conference, a series of presentations on drone journalism drew significant attention. Drone journalism involves remote-piloted small aircraft equipped with cameras and microphones to report on such matters as natural disasters and emergencies in which ground access is challenging. The journalism.co.uk site gathers the early impressions of journalists and organizations to the technique and notes the legal, regulatory and safety considerations that remain before drone journalism takes hold.