Exclusive access to an indicted celebrity in exchange for “particular care” in reporting; where is the ethical boundary? Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder suggests that boundary was crossed in WFLD-Channel 32’s coverage of singer R. Kelly and the child pornography charges against him.

Kelly is awaiting trial on 21 counts of child pornography in Chicago.

Feder says he got hold of an internal management memo from WFLD instructing the news staff to give Kelly the kid glove treatment in exchange for “exclusive access” at the Fox-owned station. The memo was specific in its advice on treating Kelly with “particular care:”

v     When referring to the alleged victim…do not specify an age…she is simply “underaged.”

v     Do not use video of him in an orange jumpsuit…unless specifically referring to his arrest (last June) in Florida.

v     Be judicious in mentioning the trial in stories about Kelly that are unrelated to his legal situation…i.e., don’t let it be the lead.”

According to Feder, the station’s vice president of news, Debra Juarez, said the memo was written without her knowledge by an executive producer “in response to pressure from Robin Robinson, the station’s senior news anchor.”

“When this memo was brought to my attention, I immediately took steps to clarify it,” she said. A followup memo explained that the “underage” reference was necessary because of discrepencies regarding the victim’s true age. On the orange jump suit issue, the clarification urged making sure that b-roll “matches the copy,” either video from Kelly’s arrest in Florida or court appearances in Chicago.

And finally, “If a portion of the copy talks about his career, we have plenty of b-roll of him performing.”

Feder’s column claims the station “has enjoyed unusual access to Kelly, thanks in part to his friendship with Robinson. The two share the services of the same business manager, Daryl McDavid.”

Robinson defended her handling of the story saying, “My friendship with Robert (Kelly) himself is really very limited. And I honestly don’t feel I have the access based only on a friendship. But I know my stories are better because of the increased access and the trust that he and his people have in me. I’ll put my stories up against anyone’s. There’s not a single fact missing.