ambush journalism
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.45 in modern English
32
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
4
Syllables
12
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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
Example Sentences
- "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."