PressEthic

As though surprised by the development, The New York Times published an article on the cover of the Business section today discussing the multimedia work of Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz.

The big dilemma that Katherine Seelye seems to be trying to get at is “whether anyone can report fully and fairly on his or her own employer, particularly for public consumption”. Judging by the way journalists have been reporting on the various scandals that happen within their industry and their own companies, it looks like the need for transparency is no longer debatable.

The bigger question, I think, is two paragraphs down:

In fact, the Post has quite liberal rules regarding extracurricular work by its reporters and editors.

As Mr. Downie put it in an online chat last week on the newspaper’s Web site, “We think there is value in having out best journalism reach as many people as possible through our newspaper, this Web site, television and radio appearances and books.”

What would make the folks at the Post ever feel a need to rein in Mr. Kurtz or any other reporter that tries to stretch themselves across multiple companies this way?

Journalism is scattering in all of the directions available to it right now, so most things happening during this time of trial-and-error is on a “watch and see” basis. It looks like Mr. Kurtz has assumed the responsibility to report honestly and aggressively from an awkward position. I’m sure he’ll be called on it if he makes a misstep.