The Globe's soulless use of third person

Journalists often go out of their way to avoid inserting themselves in their stories. Observe and report, observe and report. Which is how you get sentences like this from the Globe:

Brenner said she saw one person with a scalp laceration and, as she spoke to a reporter, she was on her way to get an X-ray at Boston Medical Center.

It is probably safe to assume that "a reporter" is one of the folks who wrote the story, not some random journalist who was also there. And while "a reporter" is better than say, "me", there is an easy way to avoid this awkward phrasing and ambiguity. Simply substitute the paper or institution in place of any potential first person references, like so: "as she spoke to the Globe". It's a pretty common convention, and I like it better than alternatives like "this reporter".

Obviously, this is a small quibble, but clarity is important! And in this case, it seems "a reporter" is heartlessly preventing an accident victim from receiving urgent X-rays in order to extract painful memories from said victim. Oh, the humanity. And to think I mourned the Globe's financial woes and uncertain future.