What Journalism Isn't

James O'Keefe, the right-wing poster child for felonious criminal trespass, engaged in his brand of so-called gonzo journalism for an apparent long time. Here's an old video of O'Keefe and a male friend trashing the institution of marriage:

Would this little charade have been less meaningful if a man and a woman had entered the clerks' offices with a similar deception? Are the protagonists trying to make a statement about the validity of gay marriage, or marriage in general? I can't tell. In effect, what O'Keefe and Wetmore are doing are agreeing with the libertarian idea that the government should have no role in approving relationships at all since the characterization of a "loving" relationship should not be tied to employer-based benefits or state-based rights. I'm sure that was not their intent.

As an aside, "journalism" does not include purposely deceiving the interrogatee or inserting yourself as the primary focus of the issue being covered. This is prankish behavior that tells the reader nothing of the nature of the operation in question. At best it is a distraction, at worst it is a crime.