KCRA & the Safeway Meat Scandal (16)
Reflection # 2: I'd done a lot more digging than anyone had specifically asked me to do. It was a delicate situation, and I'm sure Paul felt put on the spot by what he took to be an overzealous crusader with insufficient respect for the economic facts of life.
There is commonly believed to be some great dichotomy between what's good for business and what's good for journalism. But in the end, is there any difference?
Timid journalism only loses viewers--and sponsor interest. It also puts you in a position where threats from the sponsors you still have are bound to mean more. Sponsor pressure will then be even more likely to result in the kind of bland coverage that loses viewers, and ultimately, revenues.
How many news executives who disparage the "naiveté" of "overly idealistic" reporters really see the total business picture themselves? Covering dull events like the opening of a shopping center to help out the sales department may make a certain amount of sense, if it's not overdone. But does not covering or under-covering genuine news stories that the viewers can learn about by other means really make much sense as a business policy?
