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Va. school district pays reporter on the beat as consultant

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by wicked, Jul 12, 2012.

  1. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    A woman who runs a local news website in Alexandria, Va., says it was totally OK to work as a $75-per-hour communications consultant for the local school district she covers.

    http://alextimes.com/2012/07/alexandria-city-public-schools-paid-education-reporter-for-advice/
     
  2. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    Good that somebody blew the whistle on that.
     
  3. ColdCat

    ColdCat Well-Known Member

    how convenient, she can just call herself to get a quote
     
  4. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    I would love me some $75 an hour consulting work, though.
     
  5. rpmmutant

    rpmmutant Member

    Who else is willing to pay her for covering the school board? The Alexandria Times? Doubtful, unless she was willing to write a blog for free as a community journalist.
     
  6. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    Hell yes. Virginia is for lovers.
     
  7. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    Yes, it's a conflict of interest, but it's her site and her reputation. I don't know if FTC rules apply in this case regarding not disclosing a financial interest.

    With newspapers cutting back and hyperlocal sites popping up, expect to see more of this.
     
  8. Tarheel316

    Tarheel316 Well-Known Member

    Yeah. Me too.
     
  9. MightyMouse

    MightyMouse Member

    I should tell our education reporter about this. There was a hullabaloo a few months ago when our city district's union was voting on a new contract. A lot of the administrators had no idea what was what, and needed our reporter to explain a lot of it to them just to get a decent quote. Dude could've made some money off that.
     
  10. Oggiedoggie

    Oggiedoggie Well-Known Member

    She should ask herself to go to lunch so that she can lobby for more coverage on the website but, when the check comes to the table, refuse to let her pay for her lunch and pickup her share of the tab, citing ethical concerns.
     
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