In a recent Semafor column, Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of the site and former media columnist at the New York Times, lays out the potential shortfalls of the historic practice in American journalism of parachuting in senior reporters to hot spots around the globe who then rely on fixers, stringers, assistants, contractors and local journalists for much of the on-the-ground reporting that is published.
Smith’s column focuses on the New York Times article “‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7,” by correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman and two local contractors. Smith notes the concerns that others have made about the article and one of the contractors, as well as the Times’ continued support of the story and its review of the social-media activities of the contractor.
Smith makes a compelling case for why the practice of the parachuted reporter, or “Bigfoot,” as he calls them, relying on sometimes inexperienced and untested people on the ground leaves everyone vulnerable.
“Correspondents might be republishing the sloppy work of incompetent helpers, or might burnish their reputations at the expense of talented locals,” he writes. “Or they might be manipulated by stringers and fixers who are agents of the local government or political factions. The Times and other outlets manage this practice with increasing care. But this uneven teamwork is a fading tradition among both foreign correspondents and domestic reporters covering parts of the United States that might as well be another country.”
You can read Smith’s entire column in Semafor here.