WATCH: NBC News Correspondent discusses Tapp case, future of journalism
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IDAHO FALLS — NBC News Correspondent Keith Morrison has spent several days in east Idaho working on a hour-long special about the Christopher Tapp case.
Morrison originally featured a report on Tapp in a 2012 episode of Dateline NBC. He said he returned to Idaho Falls this week after new developments in the case have come to light over the past five years.
“On so many levels this case is interesting,” Morrison told EastIdahoNews.com. “The facts of the case, as they are known, are confounding. The evidence that has been coming back has all been leading in one direction and yet the investigation seems to veer off and go in a different direction.”
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The Tapp report will air on Investigation Discovery. An air date has not been set, but Morrison said it should be “soon.”
The seasoned journalist has worked nearly 30 years for NBC News. During a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com reporter Nate Eaton, he said journalism has changed over the years and he’s worried about it.
“The biggest concern now is the amount of distrust people have for the profession,” Morrison said. “The distrust is well placed in some respects. We have a wide variety of different kinds of journalism. Some of it is pretty slap-dash and lousy. Some of it is absolutely terrific. Most of the mainstream media companies that get so regularly lambasted these days are actually very good.”
Morrison said his employer, NBC, has a large fact-checking staff and every report is checked multiple times to make sure mistakes aren’t aired.
“That isn’t true everywhere and therein lies the problem,” Morrison said.
Despite challenges, Morrison believes journalism has a bright future and would encourage anyone interested in the profession to pursue it.
“Some people have worried that because of changing technologies and changing public attitudes that journalism is dying,” Morrison said. “Journalism, as we have known it, is dying, but it’s much more vibrant in some of these newer areas like what you guys (at EastIdahoNews.com) are doing. Web based journalism is the future and it’s a great place to be.”