This week’s New York Observer has a feature on ABC’s Brian Ross, the investigative reporter responsible for breaking the Mark Foley sex scandal story.
The article quotes from NYTV interviews with Ross and former colleagues. Jim Stewart, a former CBS News correspondent, questioned the accuracy of some of Ross’ reports. “Were they wrong some of the time? Yes,” he said. “I’d rather be right than be first.”
Also quoted in the piece are a former producer and staffer, both unnamed, who described the internal process of hyping up and keeping secret the investigative reports.
Ross defended his reporting to NYTV. He notes that nothing gets on to The Blotter, Ross’s site where his print reports appear, before first passing through the ABC lawyers and standards department.
Relating to the reporting tactics, Ross said, “I’ve seen investigative units come and go at various operations, and the ones that don’t work are the ones that spend two years and a million dollars on some project that falls apart, that doesn’t work.
“And the ones that get it wrong, that doesn’t work. We’re trying to be productive — and productive in an area, online, that’s important for the future of our company.”