“Fallen Idol:” Journalistic Sin?

ABC’s “Fallen Idol” special was a “scandalous standard of broadcast journalism, most charitably described as a case of sweep fever,” The Hollywood Reporter says. “If ABC News really had the goods, Quinones would have said so. Instead, he told viewers, ‘You be the judge’ — a phrase that is perilously close to the faux fairness mantra of Fox News: ‘We report. You decide.’ Any investigative report worthy of airtime should connect the dots for viewers. The burden of sifting through the facts to arrive at the truth should be shouldered by the reporter, not the viewer.”