The people on whom you report or about which you talk about? Not your friends. Or to be more precise, even if people in the news media have a friendly relationship with a subject, they better be clear they’ll report and talk about negative things that arise about them.
And, above all, do not send nude pictures of yourself to someone you’re covering. In fact, let’s just say don’t send nudes of anyone to anybody, just to be safe.
Yes, we’re talking about the Olivia Nuzzi-RFK Jr. story, and in the wake of the revelations about the New York Magazine reporter’s suspension for maintaining a relationship with the former presidential candidate and brain worm meal (and let’s not forget, radio talk show host), several journalists took to social media to discuss the conflict-of-interest issues raised therein.
A lot of the comments were restrained, because many of those journalists are, apparently, friends of Nuzzi, but also aware that she did something pretty egregious. A few took shots at her competency and noted that she a) lied to her editor when first confronted, b) had written very influential pieces about Joe Biden’s mental faculties while RFK Jr. was still running against him, and c) was anointed a political pundit without having any experience in politics (except for an internship with Anthony Weiner’s office) or journalism. She may never have learned what’s ethical and what’s not, though perhaps she should have known that by instinct.
But while the news media chattered about Nuzzi’s sins, it’s not like everyone else is much better. Access journalism has always been a thing, and not just in the obvious ways (Maggie Haberman, call on line 2). The Washington press corps has always socialized with the political class, whether at cocktail parties or at the frankly embarrassing Nerd Prom, the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner.
In some ways, it’s unavoidable, because if you’re a reporter, the people you spend the most time with are often the people you cover, and sometimes you come to like them, and the feeling is mutual. Other times, a politician or press secretary sees someone of whom they can take advantage (and vice versa). And in the age of social media, face it, you’re going to be a Facebook friend or X/Twitter follower of a lot of people in the industry.
A lot of this wouldn’t be an issue if there was still a training process in the news media industry. There isn’t, and because the definition of “news media” includes the internet and social media, where anyone can post anything and declare themselves “journalists,” reporting has become a learn-on-the-job thing.
That’s a plus in that there are no gatekeepers keeping talented people out of the business, and there are many self-declared journalists and pundits who are very good at it, are ethical, and may not have had the opportunity to be heard if not for the internet. That’s bad in that there’s a lot of noise to break through. And, occasionally, you get someone who gains notoriety but isn’t worthy, or never learned what they should and shouldn’t do on the job. Gotta admit though, sending nudes to a presidential candidate is uncharted territory.
I hope.
Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
