ESPN bans Post staffers from appearing on shows
Published 1:46 am Thursday, July 23, 2009
HARTFORD, Conn. — ESPN banned staffers from the New York Post from appearing on any of its programming on Wednesday after the newspaper published photos this week taken from a video showing sideline reporter Erin Andrews nude in a hotel room.
The Post published three images from the blurry video Tuesday.
‘‘While we understand the Post’s decision to cover this as a news story, their running photos obtained in such a fashion went well beyond the boundaries of common decency in the interest of sensationalism,’’ ESPN senior vice president of communications Chris LaPlaca said in a statement Wednesday night.
Newspaper reporters are regular guests on ESPN shows.
Post spokesman Howard Rubenstein did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.
The Post was one of several TV networks and newspapers that aired or published images from the video, which Andrews’ attorney says was shot without her knowledge. Andrews plans to seek criminal charges and file civil lawsuits against the person who shot the video and anyone who publishes the material, attorney Marshall Grossman said.
Kelly McBride, a journalism ethics expert with the Florida-based Poynter Institute, said it was unethical for news organizations to show images from the Andrews video.
‘‘There is some illegally obtained material, leaked documents or video of a CIA person torturing a soldier, or stuff taken out of Gitmo, that I think has great public importance,’’ McBride said. ‘‘But this doesn’t do that at all.