Presidential Race Coverage Raises Conflict Issues

Political consultant Dick Morris recently disclosed on Fox News Channel that some of the Republican presidential candidates that he talks about on the air have paid for advertisements in a newsletter he sends out to subscribers.

Columnist and ABC commentator George Will’s wife works for Rick Perry. Fox host Greta Van Susteren’s husband advised Herman Cain. NPR’s Michele Norris left as host of “All Things Considered” in October because her husband began working for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.

Such entanglements are laying bare the close ties between the media and political world during this campaign season while raising familiar questions: How much should consumers be clued in to preserve the sense that news organizations are acting independently? And what should journalists do to avoid the perception of a conflict?

There are no shortages of opinions on the topic and no one correct answer, though advocates for ethics in journalism tend to lean toward full disclosure of conflicts caused by relationships between politicians and on-air reporters or commentators.

“They may have an opinion, but they should still, I believe, have accuracy and fairness as their guidepost in the same way as other reporters,” said Bob Steele, a journalism ethics professor at DePauw University.

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 Read More at Official Wire By David Bauder, Official Wire