The New Economy

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Dalmarys Matos

“You crossed the line!” Holly Hunter shouts at William Hurt in the climax of James L. Brooks’ Broadcast News.

“It’s hard not to cross it,” Hurt protests. “They just keep moving the little sucker, don’t they?”

News 12 Connecticut traffic reporter Dalmarys Matos has taken a part time job working in the press office for Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim.

The fact that this made news in the Connecticut Post is testament to the fact that there are some people who remember when this sort of duel role would be frowned upon in journalism. The Post story on Matos asks the question whether it is OK to get one pay check from a news organization and another from the city government that newsroom sometimes covers?

The answer seems to be yes, it is OK.

Matos will be reporting to the mayor’s communications director, Av Harris, who before beginning a career as a communications advisor was a reporter himself.

The line has moved. Audiences expect transparency when it comes to media ethics issues, whether it’s a reporter with a second job or paid content.