PressEthic

Michael Kinsley, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, made this revelation in his column last sunday: "A Los Angeles Times colleague of mine, appearing on CNN last week to talk about Katrina, was told by a producer to "get angry."".

Obviously, this cannot be considered as good journalism. When you interview someone, it is to let him say what he thinks, not to make him say what you want him to say. Journalists can have an opinion, but they have to refrain themselves from expressing it. At least they should not do it by insidiously influencing their guests.

It did not take a long time for Fox News to take on the issue. The network quotes a spokesman for CNN who denies the accusation but admits: "When we book opinion writers, we expect that their commentary will reflect the sentiment in their columns."

Last Monday, PublicEye, CBS news' blog, revealed that the journalist interviewed by CNN was editorialist John Healy. Healy said he answered the producer by saying : "I'm a news guy, I'm not an actor." According to PublicEye, Healy did not really get a chance to get angry while on the air anyway.