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Tom Cruise and the Death of the 3-SourceStory
By encinoman
Journalists are taught that balanced reporting and multiple voices are important. An accepted way to achieve both is with the three-source story. Whether you blame staff cuts, star power or another explanation, such balance may be a thing of the past. Witness the following AP story which ran in the Los Angeles Times of April 20, 2007, P. E18 and on the Web.
Cruise assists 9/11 Workers
From the Associated Press, April 20, 2007
Tom Cruise&;s latest effort isn&;t for the big screen. It&;s for the New York police officers, firefighters and paramedics of Sept. 11.
Cruise was to appear Thursday at a private dinner in Manhattan to raise money for the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, a program he co-founded in 2002.
The program, based on principles developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, offers free treatment to emergency workers who suffer breathing difficulties and other health problems stemming from exposure to toxins at ground zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The program has treated 785 workers since its inception, said Director Jim Woodworth. Each worker is given vitamins and nutritional counseling and participates in daily exercise and sauna sessions.
&;We wouldn&;t be here if it wasn&;t for Tom,&; Woodworth said.
Quick quiz: how many sources do you see? How many voices do you get? Is this a press release, or a news article?
Believe it or not, both Fox News and US Magazine took the same material and delivered a much more balanced story. Money quote: &;&;This is just hocus-pocus,&; said Dr. Bob Hoffman of the New York City Poison Control Center.&;
This entry was posted on April 26, 2007 at 8:38 pm and is filed under Hollywood Follies, Journalism, Public Relations, tom-cruise.
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One Response to &;Tom Cruise and the Death of the 3-SourceStory&;
Quote Whores and Trained Seals « Monday Morning Media Quarterback Says:
June 14, 2007 at 12:24 am |
[...] Quote Whores and TrainedSeals Every journalist needs sources for his stories. The three-source story is the model, although abandoned in this LA Times piece on Tom Cruise. [...]
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