Reader: Michael Hancock prostitution story example of journalism at its worst

A Comment of the Day from last week condemning the media for over-covering the Michael Hancock prostitution story spurred a strong opinion from another reader distressed by the press's approach to the sensational (and unproven) allegations. Here's what he had to say:...
By Michael Roberts
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A Comment of the Day from last week condemning the media for over-covering the Michael Hancock prostitution story spurred a strong opinion from another reader distressed by the press’s approach to the sensational (and unproven) allegations.

Here’s what he had to say:

Bob Smith writes:

I’m not sure when or how Louella Parsons became required reading in J-school but it must be true; how else to explain the devolution of journalism to voyeurism and gossip-mongering? My old teacher Greg Pearson would have used up several of his multi-colored pens marking up this crap — before he failed the bunch of them.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword‘s news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

michaelrobertscolo@gmail.com

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