Interesting report on ABCNews.com yesterday.
Networks Blur Policy of Not Paying for Interviews
Our own chapter president, Andy Schotz, is quoted in his role as SPJ Ethics chair.
The SPJ issued a statement about NBC flying Sean and David Goldman back to the States from Brazil and then getting exclusive in-plane interviews and many follow ups with David about the abduction case.
It’s nice to see the SPJ mentioned and to have its officers interviewed on issues involving the nature of journalism. But I wonder why ABC News put this ethical issue under its ENTERTAINMENT section.
Too many people see the entertainment/opinion shows such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh as real news programs. Hell, even a large plurality of people under 40 years old say they get most of their news from The Daily Show.
Does ABC News have to help in blurring the lines of entertainment and serious news analysis?