In my last post, “When Beat Reporters Act Like They Work for the Agency They’re Supposed to Cover,” I outlined why some reporters, such as NBC Justice Reporter Ryan Reilly, seem to carry water for those they cover rather than act as independent journalists.
And I promised this eye-opening follow on.
Inside documents and leaks have given us graphic glimpses into the transactional journalism practiced by reporters at prominent national news groups. It amounts to our own industry scandal: Our Newsgate.
Compromised reporting has always existed as a result of covert collaborations between reporters and political interests—Democrats and Republicans alike. Some of the most exemplary hard evidence available happens to be heavy on reporters with Democrat ties. Much of it came during the scandal-ridden 2016 presidential campaign when candidate Donald Trump upended politics and ran against Hillary Clinton, who was also running against Bernie Sanders for the Democrat nomination. As you’ll see, much of the political establishment and establishment media seemed to be working on Team Hillary.
It can be argued that some individual accounts provided here can be rationalized and are not serious breaches of ethics. But taken as a whole, it’s easy to see how we as journalists have done a poor job protecting ourselves from being co-opted by organized interests, often ones that are paid and politically-motivated. Whether we realize it or not, they’ve figured out how to exploit the media and use us to publish their propaganda. It implies a broad and growing trend that has seriously undermined the credibility of the news industry.
Opinion reporters and those who work for obviously ideological news groups are entitled to publish party propaganda. It’s one matter to provide viewpoint journalism. But it’s quite another for us to pretend to be independent journalists while acting as a tool of any interest, or publishing narratives or talking points upon suggestion or demand, without disclosing we’re doing just that.
Hellbound and Down 