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"Editorial Distancing" Needed if Michael Bloomberg Enters Presidential Contest: Prof. Jeff McCall '76

"Editorial Distancing" Needed if Michael Bloomberg Enters Presidential Contest: Prof. Jeff McCall '76

November 13, 2019

"Michael Bloomberg’s potential presidential bid could raise serious questions for the news organization that bears his name," begins a story in The Hill which includes analysis from a DePauw University faculty member. Joe Concha writes, "Bloomberg’s entry into the crowded Democratic primary would leave the reporters and editors covering their company’s namesake as he battles more than a dozen others for the party’s presidential nomination."

Later, Concha reports, "DePauw University professor of communication Jeff McCall said he didn’t think it would be difficult for Bloomberg to cover Bloomberg as long as they were transparent. 'I don't see any problem with Bloomberg News covering a candidacy of Michael Bloomberg running for president, as long as they establish and transparently state the standards and practices of the coverage at the outset,' McCall told The Hill. McCall said Bloomberg has 'little to do now' with the day-to-day news agenda at Bloomberg, but added that this 'needs to be explained to a public that could be skeptical. It would also make sense in the name of editorial distancing to have him get off the advisory board and remove himself from any connection to the organization,' he said."

Access the complete article at the newspaper's website.

Jeffrey M. McCall is a 1976 graduate of DePauw, where he was a Rector Scholar and speech (communication) major. He went on to earn a master's degree from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. He joined the DePauw faculty in 1985 and serves as faculty advisor to WGRE, where he worked as an undergradute.

A former journalist himself, McCall is regularly quoted in stories on media matters. He recently joined in a community conversation on social media, covered here. A column for The Hill from September is summarized here.

Source: The Hill

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