Not authoritatively. But as the public served by the Fourth Estate, we can influence what we’re okay with. For example, O’Keefe is a journalist, but he’s a journalist who lies and distorts the truth, and it’s up to us the public, and also the rest of the press, to hold him accountable for that by calling him out on it.
That’s actually one of my biggest complaints with the mainstream media. Fox & Friends editing Senator Hirono to remove the context and fundamentally alter the truth should be the story on every other news program, but instead we learn about that stuff from Boing Boing or late night comedy stand-up shows.
But this is the main issue, is the intent to report, or to smear? Yes, anyone can be a reporter, but that doesn’t mean that a Nixon-era CIA agent or even James O’ Keefe should be allowed to claim to be a reporter, because the intent is clearly to smear, not to report facts. That’s dirty pool.
ETA: To be inclusive, you may also notice I’m not a fan of Cory’s hyperbole. The main reason reporters should be accountable is that readers are often limited in investigating on their own, whether by proximity, time, clearance, etc. We depend on honest reporting, because we are not omnipotent.
I think some of the confusion is what you mean by allowed. Obviously they have a legal right to claim to be a reporter, or Emperor of the Dandelions for that matter. Doesn’t mean we should accept it, nor that we shouldn’t call them out for being lying liars who lie.
