"Should Reporters Play Roles?" - Clayton Kirkpatrick & Gene Patterson - ASNE Bulletin

Responses of two members of the Pulitzer Board

Byline: Clayton Kirkpatrick, Gene Patterson; 1979-09-01; ASNE Bulletin; 

Report: Undercover Journalism Debated

Tags: Mirage, undercover reporting

"I voted for the revised ethical code approved by ASNE in 1975, and I am sure he did also. There is no specific prohibition of role-playing in that statement of principles." (Kirkpatrick)"I reserve the right to infiltrate reporters if fakery is truly the last resort and the only way to serve a vital public interest." (Patterson)

Description:Clayton Kirkpatrick, then president of the Chicago Tribune, says yes and Gene Patterson, then president and editor of the St. Petersburg Times, says a qualified no to journalistic masquerade.

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Clayton Kirkpatrick, then president of the Chicago Tribune, says yes and Gene Patterson, then president and editor of the St. Petersburg Times, says a qualified no to journalistic masquerade.