Morley Safer: “I Would Trust Citizen Journalism As Much As I Would Trust Citizen Surgery”

In a speech after receiving the 2009 Fred Friendly First Amendment Award from Quinnipiac University, Morley Safer discussed the impact on journalism of the troubled newspaper industry.

“The blogosphere is no alternative, crammed as it is with ravings and manipulations of every nut with a keyboard,” he is quoted in a Qunnipiac press release as saying yesterday. “Good journalism is structured and structure means responsibility…I would trust citizen journalism as much as I would trust citizen surgery.”

Safer, 77, is also profiled by the New York Daily News’ Richard Huff, who writes that despite Safer going to part-time status at 60 Minutes a few years ago (“which means he’s supposed to do about six pieces a year”), the program’s senior correspondent is still working on 8-10 stories annually.

Safer tells Huff he does not plan to retire from the show. “I’ve been a field hand all my life…I’m going to keep doing it until they say, ‘You can’t do it anymore,’ and there’s no indication of that. It’s the best job in the world.”

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