SHOULD TV REPORTERS HAVE INTERVIEWED KIDS AT NEWTOWN SHOOTING?

TV reporters — especially those working for the cable news networks — were being bombarded with criticism on Friday for interviewing children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. In an interview with Dylan Byers of Politico.com, Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, suggested that the coverage represented “irresponsible journalism.” […]

OMBUDSMEN SLAM ESPN’S PENN STATE COVERAGE

The Florida journalism school The Poynter Institute, which partnered with ESPN to act as an ombudsman of ESPN’s sports news coverage, has excoriated the cable sports network for its failure “to ask tough questions and shed light” on the scandal involving Penn State’s football defense coordinator Jerry Sandusky, athletic director Tim Curley, university vice president […]

JOURNALISM PROFS SCORE TV PAYMENTS FOR INTERVIEWS

Following the acknowledgement by Chris Cuomo, co-anchor of ABC’s 20/20 that he paid $15,000 for Meagan Broussard’s sexting exchanges with New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, members of the faculty at Florida’s Poynter Institute have warned about the growing practice of checkbook journalism. Al Tompkins, who heads the broadcast faculty at the journalism institute, has warned […]