11.08.2009

Ethics of Reporting and Photography

On Friday, Girl Talk performed a show at Cole Field House for about 2,000 students. There were numerous campus media outlets covering the show, including two from the music blog Terrapin Sound. Terrapin Sound, which is affiliated with the Maryland Music Business Society, sent a reporter and a photographer to the event. They both had backstage passes and where told that they would at least have the chance to talk to Girl Talk's entourage, if not interview him. When they knocked on his dressing room door they were told that they would not be able to do an interview and were asked to leave, which they did.

They later found out that after this incident Girl Talk requested that Terrapin Sound is never allowed backstage again. This is a somewhat irrational request because the two were never actually told they would not be allowed to interview Girl Talk. Maybe he felt they were intruding on his space, which would be a legitimate reason. So in retrospect, did the reporter and photographer do anything wrong?

4 comments:

Alex said...

It doesn't sound as if the reporter and the photographer did anything wrong at all. They were respectful and simply exercising the rights of their backstage passes. It sounds as if Girl Talk is uptight and out-of-line.

Greg Schimmel said...

I don't think the reporter and photographer did anything wrong either. If you knocked on the door and then left when asked, what else could you possibly do? That's definitely pretty obnoxious of him and an irrational reaction. Hopefully Terrapin Sound was able to get the story without speaking to him directly.

Lauren said...

That's ridiculous! Sounds like Girl Talk is being a bit of a Diva! As a journalist you sometimes make people mad when you're doing your job. As long as you are seeking the truth and being ethical (which the photographer and reporter were), you aren't doing anything wrong.
Oh, and the photographer and reporter should have told Girl Talk to be grateful for the press because I've never heard of him, and I doubt Perez Hilton has either!

Jenna Shulman said...

Yes, clearly Girl Talk is being very out of line, Perez would pretty much refer to them as D-list celebs, if that! It is a journalist job to find out as much about a story as they can. Also, they didn't break into the dressing room, they knocked. the dressing room door was most likely a public place and I don't see that Girl Talk broke any rules. I think Girl Talk overreacted, it was after all, student journalists! I feel very bad for the reporters and photographers.