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"Is This Supposed To Be Journalism?"

July 14, 2009

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Per the New York Times, NBC News’s show The Wanted (a.k.a. To Catch A Terrorist/War Criminal) — the one that made news in February — debuts next week.

From the show’s promotional materials:

The truth is the real weapon in this redefining news series that follows a Navy Seal, a Green Beret and a dedicated reporter as they hunt down war criminals and terrorists from around the world.

From Lucy Dalglish, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press:

Is this supposed to be journalism?

Well, the show does have a journalistic patina— it’s an NBC News “groundbreaking television event,” and one of the on-screen participants/executive producers, Adam Ciralsky, comes from 60 Minutes (the other executive producer is Charlie Ebersol, a documentary filmmaker and the son of the chairman of NBC sports).

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Liz Cox Barrett is a writer at CJR.