Finally, a broadcaster with the guts to turn down a high profile but totally exploitive assignment!
When the Larry King program he was scheduled to guest host turned out to be another mauldin go-round on the Alabama teen who disappeared in Aruba, Bob Costas "just said no" to CNN. (Be sure to read Miami Herald Columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.'s take on Bob Costas' refusal, which ran in today's Mercury News.)
Hey, I'm sure we all feel really bad for her family, but how many times do we need to hear this story? Especially when there is nothing new (that is, no actual news) to report.
So...when does news coverage of a family tragedy cross the line from being news...to being exploitative ratings fodder? I know it can be hard to give a black-and-white answer to that question...but I'd say the lack of any "new" news is a telltale sign. And in this case, I'd say that line was crossed quite a while ago.
