Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The FBI has ended its controversial quest to hire a company to grade whether news is positive, neutral or negative, the Washington Times reports.
The bureau abruptly removed the contract solicitation without explanation, and the FBI declined to discuss it.
Journalism ethicists expressed worries about the FBI’s plans to grade news coverage.
“You would certainly worry this could affect access,” Dan Kennedy, a journalism professor for Northeastern University, said. “It might affect the way they’re going to approach your questions, whether they’re going to be extra careful not to make news if you’re on the ‘bad list.’”
Now the FBI is looking for a clipping service but not a grading system.
