The Columbia Journalism Review has written this week about a possible conflict for the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times. Ethan Bronner is part of a speakers' bureau for Lone Star Communications, a public relations firm that also pitches him stories.

CJR suggests in the piece that Bronner has written about some of the firm's clients as part of his work. It argues that there is an appearance of a conflict in this case. His employer argues his work and speeches comply with its ethics guidelines, but CJR raises questions about this.

"Running the Jerusalem bureau for The New York Times is a tough job in a hypersensitive area, one that attracts more than its share of slings and arrows. So maybe it is best not to hand out extra arrows, as Ethan Bronner seems to have done," the CJR's Max Blumenthal writes.

 


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Jeffrey Dvorkin link
09/18/2011 04:37

This is not the first time Bronner (who is a very solid Times correspondent) has been criticized: his son joined the Israeli army and some on the left inferred that this made his reporting suspect. I thought that one can't go after Bronner for what his adult son decided to do with his life. It was worth noting to see if the Times' reporting on the IDF would be changed in any way. But being on a PR string while on the payroll of the Times (or any news organization for that matter) is different. Blumenthal's take on this is right. IMO.

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