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Originally Posted by robot_parade
Let's pretend you are a journalist covering a candidate for president. He invites you and the other journalists covering him to stay the weekend at a five-star resort, all expenses paid, and attend a free 'barbecue', all in a 'no-cameras/off-the-record' atmosphere. It's explicitly not a political or campaign event, there won't be any opportunity to interview the candidate 'on the record', or anything like that.
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I don't have to pretend. It's happened to me. This is very, VERY common for people with an interest in positive press coverage to do. It's not just limited to the politico types.
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Do you think attending such an event would violate your journalistic integrity?
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Yes.
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And I'm curious - does anyone here on TFP see any justification for this behavior? Anyone willing to defend it?
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Defend which side of it? McCain did nothing wrong. He's allowed to try and influence press coverage. The journalist who allows himself to be wined and dined is doing something wrong. Many journos these days do not understand why I won't even take an offered cookie or donut. It's not because my coverage would be influenced. You could give me a Porsche and I'd still nail you to the wall if you screwed up. But the viewer doesn't know that. I won't do anything that jeopardizes my perceived integrity with the viewer.
It's a sad thing really. Most journalists are paid crap wages. I know many who make $17,000 a year. Most starting journos make that. . .if they're lucky. Very tempting to take the free SWAG offered you when you consider ramen expensive, ya know? But it's something that a journo must realize is a consequence of him choosing to be a journalist. Don't like it? You can make more money doing almost anything else. Go into PR and offer the trips to the journos
