Friday, February 8, 2008
Donating money to an issue your covering
I'm currently working an article about the Chicago Mission Team luncheon. As I was entering the Benes room (where the event was being held), I was asked if I wanted to buy a ticket so that I could have some pizza OR if I just wanted to donate money for their cause. Although I would have liked to donate a couple of dollars, I knew that goes against Journalism ethics. I cannot ethically endorse a cause that I am writing about. Even though this is only a college paper and it wouldn't have been the end of the world had I donated a couple dollars, I decided to stick to my guns and not donate money. It might have come off a little coldhearted, but oh well. I think I did the right thing.
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2 comments:
Emily -- You are on the right path to ethical decision-making and thinking about the appearance of your actions, such as donating money to the subject of your interview. As a journalist you want to avoid any whiff of a conflict of interest. As you work your way through various interview situations you will develop consistency in your decision-making. Good job so far!
Emily: You just encountered a very practical situation that reporters face all the time. And, best of all, you handled it ethically. Here is one that touched a friend of mine a couple years ago. Someone came to his door soliciting his signature on what he thought was a rather innocuous petition to keep the local electric company from cutting down trees in the community to protect their power lines. Two days later, his editor assigned him a story ... you guessed it, the tree story. Of course, they had to assign another reporter to cover the story. You just never know. Best to you and all in 350.
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