By: Tim Wheeler: September 20 2007
A story involving a Chicago reporter’s seemingly unethical visit to a suspect in a disappearance case’s house drew critical media attention in mid July. Amy Jacobson was caught on video at the home of Craig Stebic, whose wife recently disappeared, dressed in a bikini top and beach towel. Since the leak of the video Jacobson has received a significant amount of negative media attention regarding her ethical conduct. After a short time Jacobson’s resignation was received and she is no longer a member of the channel 5 NBC news team of which she was previously employed.
Whether or not foul play was involved or not Jacobson had no business, as a distinguished reporter, socially meeting with a suspect of an ongoing investigation. The argument can be made that Stebic and Jacobson had developed a relationship, but this argument is overshadowed by the idea that the scene is a primary example of a conflict of interest. In Jacobson’s case she is caught on video meddling in the like likes of an open and serious investigation. An action like this not only damages the credibility of Amy Jacobson as a reporter but casts a negative light on WMAQ-TV channel five news as an organization.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
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3 comments:
This is an interesting case. At what point is a reporter prohibited or allowed to have a personal life? If they knew each other beforehand, must she no longer socialize with him because of her position? If she doesn't cover the case, does that remove some of the ethical issues? I'm interested in hearing where some of you believe the line is drawn.
It is evident that this is indeed a case in which the boundaries between business and pleasure are being tested. Going to the residence of a such a figure is definitely going to raise some questions. The question is did she, as a reporter, compromise her career by crossing over the line of professionalism? The answer is yes, she did make that choice and it had an adverse impact on her career with NBC 5.
In my opinion, it is not worth it to put oneself in a situation which could lead to that sort of publicity. This shows that she felt as though a personal life was more important than her career as a reporter. I think this is a perfect example of how it is necessary for a reporter to remain professional at all times.
Wow, I am astounded by this story. Clearly her intentions were purposeful; she knew that she was conversing with a suspect in an ongoing case. Obviously, she felt her mingling was more important than her integrity and reputation. Not only did she ruin her credibility, but also has severely scarred her chances to have a successful career in the news business. Could she not have waited until the investigation was over to begin/continue seeing the gentleman? The risk of being associated with the disappearance of the man's wife was obvious. When she became a reporter she assumed a responsibility to maintain an image that was positive towards herself and the news station. My take- If the woman couldn't resist the socializing with the gentleman then she should have passed the coverage of the story to another qualified/focused reporter. We are all human and we make mistakes. She made a mistake knowingly, which is not a mistake but an intention.
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