The College Journalist Who Interviewed the Alleged St. Louis Kidnapper Now Finds Herself Under the Media Microscope

Washington University in St. Louis's student newspaper, the Student Life, disavowed a fellow student journalist today in this staff editorial, calling her reporting tactics dishonest and unprofessional. In doing so, the Student Life joins several other news outlets that already have denounced the tactics the Wash. U. senior, who was working freelance for the New York Post, used to get an exclusive interview with Michael Devlin, the man accused of kidnapping two boys in suburban St. Louis. The student got the scoop by going to the jail and identifying herself as a friend, not a reporter, making Devlin's lawyers furious, the AP reports .

Earlier this month, a local TV news channel devoted a whole segment to the student journalist, uncovering her earlier works for the campus newspaper, including two sex-themed articles (here and here. Other media reports (see a roundup here) paint the student reporter as a novice, potentially dragging the journalism profession deeper into the mud.

PHOTO: FRANKLIN COUNTY SHERIFF/AP