This journalist got a big scoop, only to watch Fox News steal his reporting...

Copies of The Christian Chronicle. (Courtesy of Bobby Ross Jr. - The Poynter Report )

By Kelly McBride - Posted at The Poynter Report:

Bobby Ross Jr. is a veteran religion reporter and a man of faith. He edits The Christian Chronicle, an independent news organization serving the Church of Christ community.

It was surprising, then, when Ross took to Twitter last week to call out a Fox News reporter. The cable TV network “aggregated” (Ross will say “stole”) one of his best stories without doing its own reporting and without acknowledging Ross’ ground-breaking work.

Ross’ scoop? Remember the American missionary doctor who almost died after contracting Ebola while treating patients in Liberia during the 2014 crisis, only to be saved by an experimental drug that had never been tested in humans? After five years, Dr. Kent Brantly is headed back to Africa to treat the sick. And Ross scored an in-depth interview with him, his wife, his counselor and his fellow missionary doctors.

That’s a great story, right? Ross knew it from the moment he got the tip. As a religion journalist, Ross has a lot of experience with great stories. His work has appeared in the LA Times and The Washington Post.

In 2005, Ross joined The Christian Chronicle, an independent, non-profit, monthly newspaper that covers the 12,000 Churches of Christ across the United States, as well as the international community. The 36-page tabloid is delivered monthly to 138,000 mailboxes. More than half his budget comes from donations. The rest comes from advertising. The Christian Chronicle has a full-time staff of three, counting Ross as the editor in chief.

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