Meaning of ambush journalism | Babel Free

Definitions

A tactic used by a news reporter who intercepts an uncooperative individual in an unexpected place, such as a sidewalk or parking lot, in order to pose questions to that individual and elicit spur-of-the-moment responses.

uncountable

Examples

“De Niro spokesman Stan Rosenfield said the actor was the victim of a new breed⟳ of "rat crew" video paparazzi who provoke celebrities into scenes and then sell⟳ the footage to high-paying tabloid television shows. "When our forefathers wrote the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of the press⟳, they did not know⟳ about rat video packs who engage⟳ in ambush journalism," Rosenfield said.”

“Television entrapment isn't new: the "Dateline" segments echo Mike Wallace's hidden-camera ambushes on "60 Minutes" in the 70's. . . . But the program's success seems to be inspiring others to try⟳ their own⟳ brand of ambush journalism.”

“Weir's quarry, Kevin Trudeau, complained about "ambush journalism" when the correspondent stopped him on a Zurich street.”

CEFR level