If presented with this situation I would read the documents. If the documents proved the woman's involvement in illegal activities, I feel the the public should be notified of this. I would discuss the situation with my editor and push for the information to be released to the public. I would not take the documents, but I would make sure to take down extensive notes and perhaps some photos with my camera.
Situations like this can break huge leaks and be the ground breaking story needed to jump start a reporter's career. Many of America's great scandals such as Watergate, have been reported through leaks such as this. Therefore I would definitely break this story.
Scenario #2
I would not take a job at a local nursing home in order to break a story for my paper. I feel it is ethically wrong to disguise oneself in order to gain access to information. Although some media outlets do partake in disguising in investigative journalism, it is still a misrepresentation of ones self. It is not apart of my job to lie, misrepresent, and deceive people.
Scenario #3
You may not use quotes as your own, even if you heard them yourself. Journalists are always required to site their sources. The proper way to use the quotes would be to obtain them directly from the source and cite the sources. Otherwise, you may lose credibility as a journalism by stealing quotes.
Play Editor
The story presented contains no solid proof that the professor sexually harassed the student and compromises the principles of ethics within journalism. Reporting the truth with accurate information is very important to a journalist credibility. Libel lawsuits can be filed against reporters if inaccurate information is distributed. I would completely dismiss the story from publication in order to avoid slander and libel liability.
1 comment:
#1 - I might look too, but you'd probably have to get confirmation from another source before you could "break" this story...because you'd run into ethical problems (and maybe credibility problems) if you had to explain how you got the info.
#2 - wise decision. Reporters (and their news organizations) have been sued for misrepresentation in cases like this.
#3 - Correct.
#1-3: 14-2(late)=12/15
Play Editor: Correct 10-1(late)=9/10
Post a Comment