News broke yesterday that former United States Senate Intelligence Committee staffer James A. Wolfe was charged for lying to the FBI and for leaking classified information from the committee to a (now) New York Times reporter Ali Watkins. The New York Times, and others, have tried to argue that this is a matter central to the Freedom of the Press, as reporters need to protect their sources. What they bury is that Watkins was using sex to obtain government secrets.

Wolfe is 57 or 58, depending on sources, and Watkins is currently only 26. Their relationship started 4 to 5 years ago, most likely as Watkins was finishing up a Bachelors in Journalism from Temple University.

Watkins was always a poor writer, and it seemed that she would go nowhere when she got a job her senior year with McClatchy as a National Security Reporter. As is all too common, she probably used her youth as a commodity in a trade with Wolfe to get access to information that other reporters would not.

Unique information is a great way to get your story noticed, and editors will excuse all sorts of horrible writing if the story is notable enough. Journalism is a business, and papers care more about “clicks” and web traffic than they do their reputation.

Thus, an obscure, horrible writer with no experience was able to jump to Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Politoco, and finally the New York Times. She was able to rise to the top of her field as quality journalists with proven research skills get nowhere. What makes matters worse is that she tried to claim that staff members of President Donald Trump were responsible for leaks when she knew that she was sleeping with someone to get them.

Watkins represents the worst in journalism, a fraud who has neither the talent nor ability to deserve to be hired by even an obscure, local publication. Yet she is common in the field, showing that all that matters is clicks, not the law, not good writing, or the most minimal of ethics. The staff of the New York Times should be horrified that an unqualified kid was able to join their ranks simply because she knew who to sleep with. Yet the New York Times tries to defend her by pointing the finger at President Trump waging a war on journalism.

Journalism has a serious problem right now, and it is one that it brought upon itself. For journalism to succeed in the future, we need to return to a time of ethics and standards, a focus on quality above all others.

Update: Temple University bragged about how Watkins used her relationships to obtain scoops:

Journalism major Ali Watkins spent some of her internship at McClatchy DC News hanging around elevators and locked doors — but not because she was idle. Rather, she was establishing relationships with people who might serve as sources for stories. And in December 2013, her creative persistence paid off.

A breaking national story was the direct result of tips she received through unnamed sources with whom she has developed trusting relationships since she began reporting for McClatchy in May 2013.

It almost seems like Temple University knew she was sleeping with someone for information. Maybe that is the new direction colleges are going.