How responsible are journalists for catching liars Lance Armstrong, Manti Te’o and others?
The world’s most famous cyclist, Lance Armstrong, lied and lied and lied, and even sued a news organization who called out his lies. (He may have even lied while backpedaling for Oprah.) Notre Dame defensive player Manti Te’o, whether he meant to or not, lied about what turned to be an imaginary girlfriend. The result […]
Do journalists work for readers — or their (bosses’) bosses? A CNET and CBS vs. Dish example
Journalists running afoul of the real-or-imagined business interests of their bosses is nothing new. As a technology columnist for The Birmingham News and Newhouse Newspapers in the 1990s, I remember being told I couldn’t mention AT&T’s debut of its online, searchable Yellow Pages because they competed for ads with the newspaper. (Seems quaint now, doesn’t […]
The Chicago Sun-Times shows “The Mirage” series again
If you’re into media ethics history — or just like to see power-chord journalism with a slice of ethical quandries — then take a look at The Chicago Sun-Times online publication of The Mirage series. In 1977, The Chicago Sun-Times went undercover with the non-profit Better Government Administration and CBS to show rampant corruption among […]
When is it right to break a law for a greater good?
British regulators are starting an inquiry into Sky News, which acknowledged that it hacked into email accounts in search of information about a canoeist who faked his own death and an alleged pedophile who later died in prison. As The Independent newspaper reported on April 13: John Ryley, head of Sky News, told the Leveson […]
Some celebrity dietary supplement endorsers won’t talk to Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports is a rarity among magazines: It accepts no advertising and generally buys the products it tests. Its credibility tends to demand the respect of the companies it writes about. Consider, then, the magazine’s March 2012 story about dietary supplements and the celebrities who endorse them. Noting that the Federal Trade Commission requires that […]
Poynter asks: What to do when the mayor says “asshole?”
Poynter’s Al Tompkins offers a real-live ethics question: When Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says “asshole” during a TV interview about another shooting in his town, do you run it? Trim it? Do something different online? My extra credit: Why does The Daily Show bleep the “hole” and not the “ass?”
Don’t want to be called bad names? Then don’t go on entertainment shows, Mrs. Bachmann (or other politicians)
Yes, the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon house band should not have played Fishbone’s Lyin’ Ass Bitch when U.S. representative and GOP presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann came onto the set on November 21. Yes, NBC was right to apologize, even though Bachmann said it should have come from NBC’s president, not a vice president. She […]