Daniel Schorr was a veteran reporter and news commentator who worked as a senior news analyst for National Public Radio (NPR). As Schorr was traveling “somewhere in the eastern corner of Poland, near the Soviet border,” during his work for CBS in the 1950s, he came upon a group of people who told him that they “were going to Israel.” Schorr was intrigued, and he interviewed them on camera. When he returned to Warsaw, Schorr told the Israeli Minister in Warsaw about the group of people he had met on their way to Israel. The Israeli Minister explained to Schorr that an agreement had been worked out with the Soviet government that would allow people to be “repatriated” to Poland from the Soviet Union, at which point they would make their way to Israel in secret, because the Soviet Union was at that point not allowing any emigration to Israel. Schorr had interviewed these people on camera, and he felt some pressure to adhere to the standard journalistic principle of uncensored reporting. However, this conflicted with his most basic humanitarian instincts: if he aired the film, these people would no longer be able to leave the Soviet Union for Israel.
Does Excellence Always Equal Success?
Carol Marin is a highly respected investigative reporter for a CBS affiliate in Chicago and a contributor to “60 Minutes II,” the national weekly television news magazine. In 1997, during the time that Marin worked for NBC-owned Channel 5, the channel hired Jerry Springer to do a series of commentaries for Marin’s nightly news show. Marin objected to the management’s decision to hire Springer, the nationally syndicated host of a salacious talk show, because she felt that his approach violated essential journalistic standards. After some soul-searching, Marin resigned. In the aftermath of the Springer incident, the goodwill that Marin had gained among the Chicago public opened up an opportunity for her to serve as the anchor for a major local station’s 10 p.m. news show. Under her direction, the show produced a string of probing, in-depth stories, the equal of which have rarely been seen on local news. Unfortunately, Marin’s seriousness of purpose and admirable public-mindedness did not translate into market success, and the station canceled the show at the end of its eighth month.
A Clothes Call
Li is a journalist in her forties who works for a New York newspaper. She chiefly covers immigration issues. Recently, Li wrote a story on “people smuggling,” and interviewed a man who had been smuggled into the United States. He eventually landed a contract with a clothing company, and opened a factory in New York City. When Li visited the factory for the interview, it quickly became clear that, for all intents and purposes, this man was actually working in a sweatshop. The footage from the interview was sure to embarrass the clothing company, and Li was afraid it could be enough to lose this man his contract. Li’s producer ended up using the footage, and, sure enough, the clothing company called to complain.