We've all heard the question, by now, of whether it's journalistically unethical for reporters to interview Sacha Baron Cohen in character as Borat. I tend to think "no," but it's not the biggest deal. Joel Stein of the L.A. Times- not exactly the first name I think of when I consider "journalistic gravitas," shares a particularly egregious example:
Male journalists get suckered into high-fiving him over the death of his wife. They laugh with Western arrogance over the fact that Borat's father is named Boltok the Rapist. Harry Smith wrestled him on "The Early Show." Becky Anderson of CNN International, desperate to play along, asked: "I've got plow experience, I've got no retardation in the family, and I'm not Jewish. Any chance that you and I could have a little thing?"Topic for discussion: if it's wrong for journalists to interview Borat in character, is it not also unethical to report on Santa Claus as if he were real? Posted by Stephen Silver at November 15, 2006 03:22 PM
Topic for discussion: if it's wrong for journalists to interview Borat in character, is it not also unethical to report on Santa Claus as if he were real?
Of course it is, everyone knows that Santa Claus was invented by parents to scare children, just like Tom Cruise and Sid Hartman.
Posted by: J. Lichty at November 17, 2006 03:07 PM