After a childhood spent in the thrall of Walter Cronkite and the titans of CBS News, during most of my adult life I’d developed a decided preference for ABC News. In moments of crisis – or even for a presidential news conference – I tended to turn to ABC News and its team of correspondents. I always preferred Peter Jennings to the competition; his unparalleled skills at covering a breaking story won me over, and his erudite yet winning persona kept me loyal. I also came to appreciate the network’s staff of stellar correspondents and commentators, among them Ted Koppel, George Stephanopoulos, Cokie Roberts, Terry Moran, David Wright, and others who distinguished themselves regularly with their reports. I even preferred the goofy chemistry of Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson on “Good Morning America.”

Most weeks, I could also acknowledge the legitimate place in the landscape for “Primetime Live,” a newsmagazine that occasionally slipped into the realm of the tawdry, but could also deliver a kind of slick, entertaining zeitgeist coverage of the murder and mayhem that makes up so much of American culture. Fronted by Ms. Sawyer and Mr. Gibson, the show presented a jazzier alternative to serious enterprises like “60 Minutes,” and a bubblier take on celebrity than its NBC counterpart, “Dateline.” Every so often it would veer into serious topics like autism and conditions in VA hospitals, well-done investigations that worked hard at being accessible; yes, it pandered, but it did so within the boundaries of good journalism and solid reporting.

But last Wednesday night, with “Fallen Idol,” its hour-long broadcast devoted exclusively to the topic of the Fox singing competition “American Idol,” “Primetime Live” and the leadership of ABC News suddenly abandoned its news standards in a way that will forever tarnish its reputation in my mind and that of anyone who believes in good journalism. By allowing that hour of sleazy reporting and wild-eyed distortion on the air, ABC News – and its president, David Westin – demonstrated a failure to police itself in a way that ought to do lasting damage to its reputation as a news organization. It marked a new low in network news coverage, and those involved should be ashamed of themselves for allowing it to be seen. For ABC News to have devoted more money, resources, and airtime to alleged improprieties in the selection process on “American Idol” than it did to allegations of vote fraud in Ohio in the 2004 presidential election is a tragic statement on its priorities.

Nowhere in the hour did ABC News contend that contact, even of a sexual nature, between judge Paula Abdul and contestant Corey Clark on “American Idol” violated any written code of conduct or regulations governing the competition. And why would it? It’s not as though the “Idol” judges function like the Supreme Court. They merely give their opinions in the hopes of guiding the vote totals toward a professional judgment; and as anyone knows who watches the show, the voters rarely go along with the judges’ recommendations – negating the entire premise of the “Primetime Live” investigation. (If the judges are so influential, then what explains this season’s premature departures of Anwar Robinson and Constantine Maroulis, two favorites of all three judges?) Moreover, the notion that Ms. Abdul somehow gave contestant Mr. Clark favored on-air treatment in return for their sexual relationship is absurd; in four seasons she has offered up her insipid brand of over-praise to anyone and everyone, even man mountain Scott Savol. Her cloying, suck-up manner toward contestants is indiscriminate, and hardly limited to cute guys.

So what if Ms. Abdul and Mr. Clark had sex? I don’t see what business it is of ours. It’s only relevant if there’s evidence that their sexual relationship influenced the course of the show – and “Fallen Idol” failed to make that case. The only concrete example of inappropriate behavior by Ms. Abdul was in her recommendation that Mr. Clark sing a Journey song favored by judge Randy Jackson, knowing that he might prompt a positive comment from Mr. Jackson. But to make that mean something, ABC would have had to prove a direct connection between that praise and Mr. Clark’s vote totals. The show never proved anything. “It’s worth noting that the viewers, not the judges, actually pick the winner of ‘American Idol,'” correspondent John Quinones tossed out casually late in the broadcast. Yes, it was worth noting, but in the first moments of the hour, not more than 40 minutes into the special. (Speaking of things worth noting, the senior investigative producer of “Primetime Live,” Chris Vlasto, was a reporter on the front lines of the Monica Lewinsky story, and aggressively pursued tawdry questions about President Clinton’s private sex life.)

It sickened me to see Mr. Quinones smiling and laughing during his interviews with Mr. Clark and his family. These were serious and embarrassing allegations being aired, and ought to have prompted aggressive follow-up questions. I found especially galling the sequence in which Mr. Quinones gathered some former “Idol” contestants to testify to their outrage over Mr. Clark’s supposed preferential treatment. Once again, we were being asked to forget the fact that “Idol” is a talent competition decided by a phone-in vote. Their motives in resenting Mr. Clark were clear; he sang better and performed with more skill than any of them. Remember? That’s why Paula liked Corey so much to begin with.

There will be darker days ahead in American broadcast journalism; of that I am sadly certain. But few hours of television will stand in such marked contrast to the norm of the network that aired this one. I feel sorry for Mr. Westin for having to conjure up the convoluted logic he has used to justify this flagrant abandonment of his network’s news standards. I can only hope that in private moments he can admit that his decision to air “Fallen Idol” – and the ratings points he earned his network in the process – wasn’t worth the damage he allowed to the reputation of ABC News last Wednesday night.