A recent story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Dan Bice highlights what is becoming a common occurrence in journalism today.
“Reporters” who often have little or no journalistic experience turning out stories which appear to be traditional stories, but are actually written with a political bias.
Bice’s story, which you can read here, details the New York Post’s Amy Sikma, a Republican consultant, who has written several pieces on political races in Wisconsin, a battleground state in the upcoming presidential election. According to Bice, Sikma was paid by the Republican Party of Wisconsin for consulting work last year.
Bice, and Mary Spicuzza, who is also a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, appeared on the Political Power Hour with Steve Scaffidi, and discussed the challenges facing journalists working in the current media landscape, where the rise of advocacy journalism and the blurring of lines between journalism and politics, makes life more difficult for the consumer of news to determine the facts of a story.
Spicuzza also highlighted the current high-profile controversy surrounding Olivia Nuzzi, the Washington D.C. correspondent for New York Magazine, who was placed on leave on September, 19, 2014, after she disclosed a personal relationship with Robert Kennedy, Jr. after Nuzzi detailed Kennedy Jr. in a piece on his campaign.
Spicuzza spoke to the challenges for women in journalism and how she sees her role. She told WTMJ “I really try to support young female reporters, and lift them up and elevate their work, and you see something happen to somebody who has had lots of opportunities. And it’s just frustrating.”
