The old expression “a picture says a thousand words” came to mind after seeing a smiling WIVB-TV (Channel 4) sports director Josh Reed pose last weekend at the Kentucky Derby with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Bills General Manager Brandon Beane and former Bills center Eric Wood.
The photos, which were posted on social media, raised some eyebrows in media circles because Reed covers the Bills. Media members who cover teams aren’t supposed to fraternize with people they cover because it gives the appearance of the lack of objectivity.
Channel 4 General Manager Joe Abouzeid declined to comment after being asked via email if he approved of Reed’s trip to the Derby at what appeared to be an annual get-together held by Wood, now the Bills radio analyst who played college football at the University of Louisville.
Being photographed and being friends with Wood, who no longer plays for the team, is considered ethically acceptable behavior. It is different than posing with the current star quarterback and general manager. The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics calls on journalists to “avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.”
The absence of a defense of Reed by Channel 4’s general manager speaks volumes.
Reed, whose station has a partnership with the Bills that allows Channel 4 to call itself the station of the team, hasn’t responded to an email and a direct message asking if he saw a conflict of interest in posing with the Bills star quarterback and general manager; whether he paid to go to the Derby or was a guest of Wood’s; and whether he received approval from Channel 4’s general manager.
The answers to those questions would give perspective to being in the photo.
It is hard to judge what is worse – Reed appearing in the picture, or his retweeting it and other Derby photos on social media for all to see.
Understandably, current TV personnel may be reluctant to weigh in on whether Reed’s…
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