Today's Washington Post reports that every major US television network has a new breed of reporter on the ground in Haiti: the doctor-reporter.
CNN's neuro-surgeon/medical reporter Sanjay Gupta was one of the first, and he's been reporting and Tweeting (below) - to over a million followers - between stints at the operating table. CBS, ABC and NBC each have a doctor-reporter deployed in Port au Prince.
Are they there first and foremost as doctors or reporters? Is this an ethical dilemma that's impossible to navigate or a new and useful way to convey the magnitude of the situation in the aftermath of the earthquake?
The Post article quizzed one of the network executives: "It's a legitimate question to ask whether you're jeopardizing fair and honest coverage by letting someone involved in the story report it," says Paul Friedman, executive vice-president of CBS News. "But we feel it's something we can do without prostituting ourselves or misleading the audience."
Should there be room at the BBC for a nurse/paramedic/doctor-reporter - or is this crossing the boundaries of legitimate journalism?
