Journalism professors irked with Bartiromo's actions

Bloomberg reporters Justin Baer and Michael White point out Monday morning that the actions by Maria Bartiromo to fly on a Citigroup corporate jet are making it tough on journalism professors trying to instill ethics in their students.

They write, “Edward Wasserman, the Knight Professor of journalism at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, said CNBC’s response suggests the company is more interested in Bartiromo’s value as an envoy than her independence.

“‘I locate the problem with CNBC,’ he said. ‘They have obviously been using her and their other high-profile people as brand-creation devices and encouraging them to cozy up to people in the financial community.'”

Later, they add, “‘There are so many ethical dilemmas that we face in the ordinary course of trying to do our jobs that we should avoid creating new and difficult ones by engaging in relationships with people we’re covering,’ said Bob Zelnick, head of Boston University’s journalism department and a former ABC News correspondent.”

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