Miami Herald editors are enamored with the idea of “columnist reporters” because they include first-person observations written with an edge.
But ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos is uncomfortable with the blurred distinction between news and comment. The examples he cites deal with US politics, but the same problems apply to Mideast coverage too. The problem is basically how to A) balance a reporter's own insights of value, B) tell it like it is and C) do all that without inapproriate opinionating.
It's a particular minefield for journalists who blog for their papers. Reporters can easily undermine their credibility with readers. Schumacher-Matos concludes with this food for thought:
Perhaps the drift into reporters writing opinion is part of a larger trend in which technology will make the Herald's battle to remain interest-free irrelevant. By weakening the advertiser-supported business model for news, the Internet may be ushering in a return to the media being subsidized by political parties and others interested in imparting a point of view, as in the 19th century. But until that happens, the Herald and all news media need to think twice about what they are doing with your trust.
(Hat tip: Romenesko)
