English

Noun

ambush journalism ‎(uncountable)

1. (journalism) The tactic used by a news reporter who intercepts an uncooperative person in an unexpected place, such as a sidewalk or parking lot, in order to put questions to that individual and elicit spur-of-the-moment responses.
   • 1995 Oct. 9, George Rush, "Raging De Niro flips lid over vid," New York Daily News (retrieved 20 April 2014):

     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.

   • 2006 May 17, Alessandra Stanley, "Gotcha! 'Dateline' Paves a Walk of Shame for Online Predators," New York Times (retrieved 20 April 2014):

     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.

   • 2013 June 10, David Bauder, "ABC's 'The Lookout' a new outlet for 'Nightline'," Businessweek (retrieved 20 April 2014):

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

See also

• doorstepping
• gotcha journalism