"I would take that picture again in a Heartbeat"

Yesterday, FTVLive was sharing another tip with all of you. It was about taking selfies with candidates and why you should not do it. 

If you have a picture taken while you are interviewing Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, that's fine, it just shows the fact that you were talking to the candidate as part of your job. But when you snap that smiling selfie shaking the candidates hand, it send the wrong message. 

Yesterday, we showed KCRG Reporter Brady Smith photo that he posted on social media as an example of not what to do. 

Smith was not happy with FTVLive and he fired off this email: 

Mr. Jones,

I just wanted to congratulate you. You got me, dead to rights. It's clearly game over for me.

I took a selfie with a presidential nominee. I shook his hand, as any professional would before and after interviewing him, questioning him on his "joke" about inviting Russian hackers to find Hillary Clinton's deleted emails, and how he felt about being back in Iowa, a state where Ted Cruz - the man who refused to endorse him at the RNC - beat him during caucus season. Me taking a picture with the guy (and posting it to my personal FB page) clearly compromised my ability to ask him questions that any journalist would, right? Let me make one thing clear: I do not endorse, and will not vote for, Donald Trump. However, this man could be the next leader of the free world. I would take that picture again in a heartbeat and without hesitation, with any candidate or nominee, regardless of party affiliation, to commemorate a moment I can share with my family and friends. 

It's a shame that felt the need to grab a picture from my personal Facebook account. I'm not sure who fed this to you, but I'm as disappointed in them as I was about finding it in one of your blog posts. As I'm sure this response will end up on the internet as well, be sure to include this last part:

....ummmmmm Brady guess what?  You are not our boss and we don't have to include anything.

OK, that's not fair. So let's let Brady have his say: "don't go questioning someone's journalistic integrity, when it's clear that you have some work to do on yours."

OK, now that Smith has vented his frustration, let's give another tip.

Smith say that will not be voting for Donald Trump. Never and I mean never, publicly tell people who you are, or not voting for. You lose all credibility as a Journalist once you give that information. 

The best thing that any working Journalist can do, is register as an independent and never tell anyone how you voted. 

That's the end of Today's TV News tip.