But Jeff, I think you missed the boat here regarding David Gregory’s question. It’s fair to ask Jimmy if he comes off as obnoxious. In fact, if David HADN’T asked that question he’d be open to criticism for NOT bringing up the subject.

For the record, I had an interview / debate with Jimmy Justice on G4’s Attack of the Show last night. Jimmy himself didn’t see anything wrong with Gregory’s question.

Just because NBC is part of the establishment doesn’t necessarily mean they are always in the wrong….

Sticking a camera in some schmucky civil servant’s face and yelling at him/her for 5 minutes for making a U turn doesn’t qualify as investigative reporting. The example I gave does, whether I’d be willing to do it or not.

In short, Justice is doing wrong because he’s unwilling to do something that Paw is unwilling to do.

As far as watchdogs go, I’d love to read how you’d react if Mr “Justice” saw YOU parked illegally (which is almost impossible not to do in most major cities) and called the cops on YOU…

If Mr. “Justice” wants to make a difference, let him stand in front of any inner city school playground and stick his camera in some crack dealer’s face. Maybe not as much fun as bothering meter maids, but infinitely less self serving.

Also: Jimmy Justice rocks.

…you to check out Jimmy Justice, that obnoxious guy that confronts traffic cops in New York - Jeff Jarvis called it……

While I agree with you that Jimmy Justice is great and is doing us a tremendous service, I saw the interview and thought David Gregory asked perfectly appropriate questions. And I would add that Jimmy Justice responded superbly. For those who might find Justice obnoxious, I think he did a pretty good job of articulating himself. Had Gregory not asked him to address these so-called “rude” questions, we as viewers would have been left wondering why the guy is so damn obnoxious. He clearly has an axe to grind, and is hungry for his 15 minutes which he hopes to parlay into an “anti-cops” style reality series (so much for noncommercial citizen journalism). Had Gregory not asked tough questions and instead made it into a back-slapping, feel-good, puff piece, you’d be criticizing him for taking sides and being too soft.

I made my own a little bit smaller with shorter pipes, but with 5 pounds on the base it still works great.

so, what about that guy who invaded the cockpit with a video camera and berated the pilots when his flight was being delayed on teh ground…? journalist? terrorist? or just jacka$$?

And when he resorts to saying to one woman “f**k you, c**t” in one segment — and then doesn’t even have the self-protection gene to edit it out — I know I’m not in the presence of a guy I want to stand next to in the name of “justice.”

He’s welcome to talk that way, of course. And I’m welcome to move on….

Jimmy Justice reports on agents of the state who do have statutory power over me personally.

They managed, though, to both make their point and be highly entertaining without being at all obnoxious. This guy could easily have done likewise.

Since you asked, no, it’s not journalism. It’s people with cameras putting whatever they shoot on the web. Do you consider papparazzi journalists? Watchdogging the government and its abuses of power is a lofty thought compared to shooting a meter maid parking by a fire hydrant. Obviously, there will be Rodney King moments with a citizenry armed with phonecams. But that’s a mighty big shooting ratio. Simply because technology has democratized the dissemination of someone’s words and pictures to the world does not mean one is a suddenly a journalist. Maybe in your mind, not mine.

No they’re not. Gregory is wants to maintain the priesthood, to keep out folks like Jimmy.