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