Paying energy reporters for their opinion

Paul Farhi of The Washington Post writes Friday about how a research firm has been paying reporters who cover the energy industry for their opinions.

Farhi writes, “The firm, PFC Opinion Research, is rounding up reporters and editors who cover the energy sector to opine about ‘certain aspects of oil and gas industries,’ as an e-mail sent this week to journalists, including several at The Washington Post, described it.

“PFC promises to pay participating journalists ‘in cash’ and to keep everyone’s name on the down low, which means the recipients can hide the proceeds from their employers and the pesky tax collectors.

“The company calls its cash offer an ‘honorarium.’ But at least one journalism ethics expert has another name for it: dubious.

“‘If this doesn’t raise an ethical red flag, nothing will,’ said Stephen Ward, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin. By moonlighting for the companies and industries they cover, he notes, reporters risk compromising their independence and neutrality and leave themselves open to suspicions of being bribed.”

Read more here.