Maybe if they were deceived into thinking the editor was genuine and trustworthy, but otherwise if they knew they’re working with someone untrustworthy , and they still choose to associate their names together publicly, then obviously it impacts their credibility.
Insofar as a reporter works for an outlet that habitually writes misleading headlines, that does undermine the credibility of the reporter, but that’s partly true because outlets that publish grossly misleading headlines tend to take other ethical shortcuts as well. But without that general trend or a broader assessment of an outlet’s credibility, it’s possible that an otherwise fair story would get a misleading headline through no fault of the reporter, and it would be incorrect to judge the reporter for that (as Eli says above).
Why does it not feel like a fair basis?
Maybe if they were deceived into thinking the editor was genuine and trustworthy, but otherwise if they knew they’re working with someone untrustworthy , and they still choose to associate their names together publicly, then obviously it impacts their credibility.
Insofar as a reporter works for an outlet that habitually writes misleading headlines, that does undermine the credibility of the reporter, but that’s partly true because outlets that publish grossly misleading headlines tend to take other ethical shortcuts as well. But without that general trend or a broader assessment of an outlet’s credibility, it’s possible that an otherwise fair story would get a misleading headline through no fault of the reporter, and it would be incorrect to judge the reporter for that (as Eli says above).