Members of the public have a right to know what their elected officials are doing and how they are chosen. Reporters like Fish stand in for the public and its interests when they attend meetings like party conventions.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti spent the better part of 25 years in TV newsrooms. While many might view his meteorologist job as only journalism-adjacent, he was close to journalists for long enough to learn that towing a party line is the work of propagandists: real journalists ask uncomfortable questions. Read more…
Journalists and public information officers naturally butt heads in the name of protecting different interests. However, decency and respect during any interaction between the two is of utmost importance.
SPJ-Rio Grande 100 percent supports the rights of all journalists to ask questions of public, taxpayer funded agencies. Additionally, we support any member of the public who seeks to hold government accountable.
We are the ones funding their operations, the primary function of which is to serve the community. In the specific case of law enforcement agencies, their primary job is to not only serve, but protect.
While former President Donald Trump and members of his administration made harassing the media acceptable to portions of society, last night, some protesters made personal threats to individual people.
Does Ronchetti still stand with Trump? Does he applaud Trump calling the media “The enemy of the people?” Does he denounce attacks on our democracy? Do politicians belong in the KRQE newsroom? Viewers don’t know because neither Ronchetti nor KRQE have addressed these important questions.