Penn slams 'insensitive' reporting

Actor Sean Penn has blasted the US media for "insensitive" reporting, insisting journalists no longer make time to investigate stories thoroughly.

The crusading star recently covered the Iranian elections for the San Francisco Chronicle, submitting a 12,000-word article about the eye-opening experience.

But the Mystic River actor admits the press project has left him cynical about US reporting.

He says: "There's a constant insensitivity. I watched journalists. They could only ever be seen by their subject as the person with a deadline.

"It's 'breaking news', literally. By the time you get the news, you've broken it. You don't get a chance to investigate stories.

"These journalists spend half the time in the internet cafe, filing a story."