conflicts of interest

posts about #conflictsofinterest more →
NYT and Washington Post Ombudsmen Going Soft? BitchBoxes, Burgers, and Flavor Flav
Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
Jealous Google Lets Employees Flirt with Microsoft, But No Petting
Wall Street Journal Unbelievably Keeping Mark Penn as Columnist
Huffington Post's New Medical Editor Already Promoting Clients
How Barack Obama Got Ben Stein Fired from the Times
Pitchman Ben Stein Gets Economist Ben Stein Fired at the New York Times
Google CEO Leaves Apple Board, Finally
Media Mediator Meditations on Mediaiate
Google Moves in with Founder's Wife's Company

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

If_I_Had_a_Poodle
12/14/09

In reply to NYT and Washington Post Ombudsmen Going Soft? BitchBoxes, Burgers, and Flavor Flav
I am so hoping they will fire Maureen Down like every morning
Reply

If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred

Halo_Override
12/13/09

In reply to NYT and Washington Post Ombudsmen Going Soft? BitchBoxes, Burgers, and Flavor Flav
The cassingle of this was the first PE I ever bought. Which means the first PE I ever bought featured Flav, not Chuck. No offense to John Oates, but that's pretty weird, now that I think about it.
Reply

Foster Kamer promoted this comment Halo_Override was starred Halo_Override was unstarred

Banjo-Sea Kitten
12/14/09

@Halo_Override: Memories...

"My first PE" was the cassette "It Takes a Nation..." listened to [1000 times] through the brightest, baddest yellow Sony Walkman Knock-Off you ever did see.
Reply

Banjo-Sea Kitten was starred Banjo-Sea Kitten was unstarred

post003
12/08/09

In reply to Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
So what exactly do you expect a reporter or a PR person in that situation to do? Do you expect him to quit? Must he choose between keeping his job or dating someone he's attracted to? What about her? How is it fair to her to say: "if you want to date this guy, either you or your boyfriend must give up your job?" And at what point exactly do you think that obligation kicks in? First date? Second? When you first sleep together? When must you quit your job (being reassigned is hardly an option these days, with budget cuts and all) in order to continue trying to discover if this is the right person for you?
Reply

John Cook approved this comment post003 was starred post003 was unstarred

John Cook
12/08/09

@post003: It's not about what's expected of Hernandez, or Sterlin. Of course they should govern their romantic lives as they see fit. The question is what does the New York Times do--does it let its reporters date congressional flacks while covering Congress? Apparently so. I think that's noteworthy.
Reply

John Cook was starred John Cook was unstarred

Owen Thomas
12/08/09

In reply to Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
"You may have heard, for instance, that every member of Congress will be up for re-election in a year." Funny, no, I've never heard that. That may be because senators, whilst members of Congress like the House of Representatives, are not elected once every two years.
Reply

Owen Thomas was starred Owen Thomas was unstarred

John Cook
12/08/09

@Owen Thomas: Pedant!
Reply

John Cook was starred John Cook was unstarred

miss_msry
12/08/09

In reply to Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
This sleeping with a source is directly related to sleeping with the person hiring you for said journalism job. Worked for me.
Reply

miss_msry was starred miss_msry was unstarred

raincoaster
12/08/09

In reply to Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
Thats' a GREATLY abbreviated list of Judith Miller's "conquests."
Reply

raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred

rmric0.wedding.photographer.and.manny
12/08/09

In reply to Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
Isn't this a problem with most of the reporting going on inside of the beltway, you trade chuminess for access. Hopefully at the end of the day you get the dirt and can air it out, but I feel that more often than not they're just sitting on a lot of stories so as not to burn bridges. YOu end up fucking them because you never really meet anyone else (except other reporters, and you've already fucked them).

Then again I might just be extrapolating from my own experience, however unrelated it might have been.
Reply

i'm a bottle
12/08/09

@rmric0.wedding.photographer.and.manny: Nail on the head. And, to raincoaster's comment directly above, which is related to what you're saying: Can anyone here really say that what Judith Miller was up to wasn't common knowledge?
Reply

Edited by i'm a bottle at 12/08/09 8:46 PM i'm a bottle was starred i'm a bottle was unstarred

Smitros
12/08/09

In reply to Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
What have the elephants done to deserve this comparison?
Reply

Edited by Smitros at 12/08/09 5:54 PM Smitros was starred Smitros was unstarred

Richard Petty Bourgeoisie
12/08/09

In reply to Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
You forgot the impending Hamilton Nolan - Neal Boulton bombshell.
Reply

TheBusinessGuy
12/08/09

In reply to Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
The whole idea of journalists being friends and breaking bread and quaffing drinks with the politicians they cover is disturbing; romantic involvement is just the worst extreme. I for one don't like it when Brian Williams is invited to state dinners or when a Ben Bradlee pals around with a JFK. I'm not saying journalists vote, but I do think that when it comes to socializing on any level, they need to take a vow of politico-socio celibacy.
Reply

TheBusinessGuy was starred TheBusinessGuy was unstarred

NewsBunny
12/08/09

@TheBusinessGuy: I agree. I don't participate in these political shindigs. I don't list my political affiliation on sites like Facebook, nor do I post political rants there. I won't even register with a party -- my status is 'unenrolled'. I don't donate to political parties. I don't volunteer for candidates.

It's an old-fashioned way of doing things. I'm 36; I'm the last generation of broadcasters (radio, specifically) that actually came up in staffed newsrooms; were taught the craft; who covered various city halls; who learned the value of building trust with sources, gathering numbers, and nagging everyone from secretaries to Mayors for tips. Doing that required keeping your opinions out of shit as much as possible, in every way.

Excuse me while I tell those kids to get off my fucking lawn.
Reply

NewsBunny was starred NewsBunny was unstarred

TheBusinessGuy
12/08/09

@TheBusinessGuy: Correction: make that "I'm not saying journalists shouldn't vote..."
Reply

TheBusinessGuy was starred TheBusinessGuy was unstarred

TheBusinessGuy
12/08/09

@NewsBunny: I agree with almost all of what you say, but I don't think newspeople have to keep their opinions strictly confidential, as long as the opinions and analyses are clearly labeled. Actually, if someone has extensive experience covering a beat, I want to hear his take on the goings on: it's likely to be straighter talk than I will get from the politicians.
Reply

TheBusinessGuy was starred TheBusinessGuy was unstarred

NewsBunny
12/08/09

@TheBusinessGuy: That's all in the questions you ask. I have no problem asking a pol 'What the HELL were thinking?' -- as long as I go after Dems, Republicans, Independents, Jessie Venturians, The Cat-Lover's party, blah blah blah. I torture everyone equally.
Reply

NewsBunny was starred NewsBunny was unstarred

TheBusinessGuy
12/08/09

@NewsBunny: And on radio, where we hear the screams and let our imaginations fill in the rest.
Reply

TheBusinessGuy was starred TheBusinessGuy was unstarred

NewsBunny
12/08/09

@TheBusinessGuy: Let's be clear: I never did a talk show. I'm an all-news radio bitch.
Reply

NewsBunny was starred NewsBunny was unstarred

TheBusinessGuy
12/08/09

@NewsBunny: I will personally pay you a thousand dollars if you will so identify yourself on the air: This is So-and-So, the All News Radio Bitch, at the Federal Courthouse for Newsradio 88. That oughta make them forget about traffic and weather.
Reply

TheBusinessGuy was starred TheBusinessGuy was unstarred

NewsBunny
12/09/09

@TheBusinessGuy: That ain't me! ha ha!
Reply

NewsBunny was starred NewsBunny was unstarred

TheBusinessGuy
12/09/09

@NewsBunny: Oh, that was just a random assignment and station for the sake of the joke. I have no idea who you are. But it's fun to guess.
Reply

TheBusinessGuy was starred TheBusinessGuy was unstarred

NewsBunny
12/09/09

@TheBusinessGuy: All News Radio Bitch would be an awesome handle, though.
Reply

NewsBunny was starred NewsBunny was unstarred

TheBusinessGuy
12/09/09

@NewsBunny: Assuming you are in NY, now every time I listen to CBS or WINS, I will be forever wondering.
Reply

TheBusinessGuy was starred TheBusinessGuy was unstarred

NewsBunny
12/10/09

@TheBusinessGuy: With this new reply feature, we can just keep talking back and forth forever.

Don't wonder. I'm no one important.
Reply

NewsBunny was starred NewsBunny was unstarred

TheBusinessGuy
12/10/09

@NewsBunny: As the page views mount. Okay, I will officially stop wondering.
Reply

TheBusinessGuy was starred TheBusinessGuy was unstarred

CirclesAndSquares
12/08/09

In reply to Tradition of Reporters Sleeping with Sources Still Alive and Well at the New York Times
Seriously, not a big deal. I feel bad for Hernandez that his private life is being aired in public. Towns is not a player in Congress. He's in his 70s and a few years from retirement. Being his spokeswoman is an easy job. It just means putting out a few perfunctory press releases with his name on them and confirming every other spring that he intends to seek re-election. I'm sorry, I can't get outraged that a New York Times reporter is sleeping with her.
Reply

John Cook promoted this comment CirclesAndSquares was starred

John Cook
12/08/09

@CirclesAndSquares: No one is asking you to be outraged.
Reply

John Cook was starred John Cook was unstarred

Island of Misfit Toys
11/02/09

In reply to Jealous Google Lets Employees Flirt with Microsoft, But No Petting
Keep your hands on the table at all times if you know what's good for you... #jonskeet
Reply

BlinkyMcChuck
08/28/09

In reply to Wall Street Journal Unbelievably Keeping Mark Penn as Columnist
The bigger crime in all of this is the introduction of the word "glamping", which sounds like a word for bad sex.
Reply

BlinkyMcChuck was starred BlinkyMcChuck was unstarred

BlinkyMcChuck
08/28/09

In reply to Wall Street Journal Unbelievably Keeping Mark Penn as Columnist
This is the soft paternalism way of doing things of the GOP - "But he said he was going to take care of it!" - the same thinking behind deregulated markets.
Reply

BlinkyMcChuck was starred BlinkyMcChuck was unstarred

abettertomorrow
08/27/09

In reply to Wall Street Journal Unbelievably Keeping Mark Penn as Columnist
Well, what about Paul Krugman, who wrote all kinds of great things about Enron, then took $50k from them to be on a do-nothing board?

What about the columnist who writes about topics that he thinks will earn him big speaking fees down the line?

What about the columnist who writes about the same topic that her recently published book addresses?

What about the reporter who writes about the topic that he knows his publisher has a personal deep interest in?

Penn is what he his, so this is no defense - your complaint, however seems pretty, pretty vague...

How, exactly, are "journalist" ethics any different than "concrete wholesaler" ethics?
Reply

Edited by abettertomorrow at 08/27/09 5:57 PM abettertomorrow was starred abettertomorrow was unstarred

Max Power
08/27/09

@abettertomorrow: Yeah except like that fuckstick Penn, Krugman actually defended himself (quite successfully) many times about his connection. [www.pkarchive.org]
Reply

abettertomorrow promoted this comment Max Power was starred Max Power was unstarred

abettertomorrow
08/27/09

@Max Power: Yeah, Krugman says - I was a columnist, not a a journalist, when I wrote for national publications while getting an Enron paycheck - and - I didn't disclose that I was paid, but people should have assumed-. I fail to see how this is in any way different from Mark Penn. At least Mark Penn isn't promoting companies he does PR for in his column. Here are the actual quotes from Krugman's response link:

"I did write monthly columns for two magazines in 1999, but I would not have described myself as a journalist - no more so than, say, Laura Tyson, Robert Barro, or or Gary Becker, respected economists who write monthly columns for Business Week. I wrote a monthly column for Fortune; that column was neither a major commitment of time nor a major source of income. I also wrote a monthly column, for very little money, for Slate. My main sources of income were teaching, consulting, and business speaking.

5. Did I disclose my connection? Yes. I reported it the one time I mentioned Enron in Fortune, almost three years ago. I reported it again the first time I mentioned Enron in the New York Times, in a highly critical article more than a year ago. I didn't say that I was paid to serve on the board, but I thought that was obvious: who volunteers his services to for-profit corporations? "
Reply

abettertomorrow was starred abettertomorrow was unstarred

abettertomorrow
08/27/09

@abettertomorrow: here's the article Krugman wrote for Fortune:
[web.archive.org]

It's certainly ok to be wrong, and it makes it much more difficult to explain when you're taking $37,500 from the company you're so very, very wrong about.
Reply

abettertomorrow was starred abettertomorrow was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

SUBSCRIBE TO Gawker

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment