I’m still steaming about yesterday’s op/ed piece by journalism professor Susan Tifft.
Here’s what really slays me.
For lobbies and private interests to wrap themselves in the cloak of dispassionate news gathering when what is actually being practiced is PR and political advocacy is the ultimate cynical act. It demeans the journalistic craft and mocks the democratic principle that for self-governance to work, citizens must have access to accurate information.
The byline in USA Today reads “Susan E. Tifft teaches journalism and public policy at Duke University and is the co-author of The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family Behind The New York Times. What the byline doesn’t say is this: Susan Tifft is a former speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter and the former spokeswoman for the 1980 Democratic convention. Despite those partisan ties, she was able to seemlessly leave politics and enter the world of unbiased journalism. Since 2002 she has served as a senior counsel in the PR firm of The Widmeyer Group. The Widmeyer Group is pleased to call the anti-gun group Americans for Gun Safety a client.
Do you think perhaps USA Today or Professor Tifft should have said she draws one of her paychecks from a firm representing groups opposed to the NRA? I do. What’s even more shameless is she writes this in USA Today:
For lobbies and private interests to wrap themselves in the cloak of dispassionate news gathering when what is actually being practiced is PR and political advocacy is the ultimate cynical act.
She’s spoken out against government funded video news releases as “propaganda”. Yet apparently when her PR firm does it, it’s okay.
The results were phenomenal. More than 100 television stations used the news feed, including network affiliates in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Dallas and other large markets.
The offer for Professor Tifft to come on the program still stands. I’d love to debate this. As despicable as you might find the idea of NRAnews.com, at least you have no doubt where the message is coming from. I only wish the editorial pages of USA Today, and the columns of journalism professor Susan Tifft were as clear.