Morley Safer Trusts Citizen Journalism as much as Citizen Surgery

In a speech delivered after receiving the Fred Friendly First Amendment Award given out by Quinnipiac University, CBS's Morley Safer spoke negatively about citizen journalism and the blogosphere.

In the speech, Safer discussed journalism and the difficulties faced by the print media. Quoted in a Qunnipiac press release, Safer said, "The blogosphere is no alternative, crammed as it is with ravings and manipulations of every nut with a keyboard. Good journalism is structured and structure means responsibility...I would trust citizen journalism as much as I would trust citizen surgery." Safer, 77, is currently a part-time correspondent for 60 minutes. He also works on about eight to 10 stories over the course of the year. Regarding his future on the show, Safer said he has no plans to retire. He also said, "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."