Chapter 7 Exercises
1. Re-examine the scenario given in the “How to use the Potter box” section on pages 145– 147 and the professionalethics guidelines provided in the chapter. If you were the reporter in this scenario, how wouldyou conduct yourself using the Potter box as the guideline for your decisions? Would you push for publicationof the story without official confirmation of the arrest or would you wait and risk being scoopedon the story? Why or why not? What philosopher’s theories would you use to justify your decision?
2. Read the following synopses of two real cases; then reread the SPJ Code of Ethics in Figure 7-2. Does theSPJ Code of Ethics cover either of these cases? Explain your answers.
Case A
In 1981 Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke became known to all American journalists— not becauseshe had just won the Pulitzer Prize but because she had fabricated her prize-winning story, as well asmuch of her own background.
Early in April, the Pulitzer jury had awarded Cooke the prestigious prize for her feature story about
“Jimmy,” an 8-year-old boy who supposedly had been injected with heroin in Cooke’s presence. Two daysafter Cooke received the award, the editors of The Washington Post returned it to ColumbiaUniversityand the Pulitzer board.
What had happened? Only hours after the Pulitzer Prizes were awarded, VassarCollege and The AssociatedPress called The Washington Post about some discrepancies in Cooke’s biography. Her biographystated she had graduated magna cum laude from Vassar, studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and earned amaster’s degree from the University of Toledo. Vassar and the University of Toledo claimed that Cookehad attended Vassar for one year, graduated without honors from the University of Toledo and had nomaster’s degree. Moreover, the editors of the Post confirmed that Cooke was not fluent in French.
Finally, the Post editors questioned Cooke about “Jimmy.” Although she had written the story without
using any last names, claiming they were confidential, and although editors allowed the story to be published, Cooke finally admitted that “Jimmy” did not truly exist. She said he was a composite of sources shehad met while investigating heroin use in Washington, D.C. Cooke then resigned.
Case B
One summer day, a professional reporter attended an expenses-paid meeting sponsored by WestinghouseElectric Corp. In addition to food and transportation, Westinghouse provided guests with lodging and a$150 honorarium for listening to a speech advocating nuclear power.
The reporter accepted the food, the travel, the lodging and the honorarium and returned to write a storyfor his newspaper.
3. Read the following synopses of two real cases, then reread the SPJ Code of Ethics in Figure 7-2. Does theSPJ Code of Ethics cover either of these cases? Explain your answers.
Case A
A fugitive ex-convict abducted two teenage girls from California, ages 16 and 17, at gunpoint. He rapedboth girls, then threatened to kill them. Before he could, however, sheriff ’s deputies closed in on his car,shot him to death and rescued the two girls.
Because it was another in a series of high-profile kidnappings of children, news organizations, includingbroadcast, print and online media, covered the story intensely, not only in California, but across thecountry.
In this case, the girls’ names and pictures were widely and extensively used as part of the kidnapping storyand subsequent rescue coverage. After the kidnapper had been killed, however, the sheriff revealed thatthe girls had been raped.
Even though they are not legally bound to do so, most news organizations do not report the names of
sexual assault victims unless the victims consent to being publicly identified. But in this case, the victims’identities were already public.
Some news organizations pulled back on using the names and photos. Others continued to identify the
girls, saying it was too late to protect their identities since they were already “out there.”
Case B
CNN offered to preview its sensational al Qaeda training tapes, which include scenes of puppies being gassed,to the White House before they were aired, according to a report on usnews.com.
But the network’s offer was conditional: It would let the White House view five minutes of the video onlyif President Bush and his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, were in the room, and only if a CNNcrew and White House reporter could tape their reactions after the screening.
The White House declined. “The president is not a prop for some reality show,” a senior Bush aide told U.S.News.
4. Discuss the ethical implications of the following scenarios:
a. A television news reporter does a sweeps-week news story about a “miracle” anti-wrinkle cream, includingthe price of the product and a local phone number for ordering it. The only distributor of the
product also works at the television station and is engaged to the executive producer of the newscast.
b. A reporter submits a story that says, “Sen. Smith claimed he wasn’t influenced by the $150,000 PACcontribution.”
c. A city magazine publishes its annual “Best restaurants” issue. Every “best” recipient is an advertiser
somewhere in that issue of the magazine.
d. A public relations professional shares information about her client with a firm that is competing withother firms for her client’s business.
e. A newspaper publishes a house ad boasting its selection as the best newspaper in the region. The ad
says, “Only one can be the best,” then goes on to name other regional newspapers that were not selected.Nowhere did the ad mention that the other newspapers had not bothered to enter the contest.
5. Discuss the ethical implications of the following scenarios:
a. A reporter calls the debate between two women network anchors a “catfight.”
b. A newspaper publishes a brief story about a flight attendant who successfully sued an airline for race,sex and age discrimination, but the story does not mention the man’s race.
c. A PR person hires people to pose as volunteers to speak at public hearings and participate in grassrootscampaigns.
d. A newspaper’s television columnist uses material from the Web site Infoplease.com, which is a verbatimdescription of the end of the 1972 Olympics men’s basketball final.
6. Read Exercise 1 for Chapter 6. What ethical concerns are involved in this case? Write a brief statementeither defending or criticizing the news-gathering tactics used by the reporter.
7. Use the three newsroom scenarios outlined on page 107 as the starting point for a discussion about editorsand ethics. Reason through each example, using the Potter box and your own values and moral standards.Then attempt to invoke one of the philosophical principles mentioned in the chapter (Kant, Mill orAristotle) or name one of your own to help justify your ethical decision. Discuss your views in class.
8. Name five things you would do to help your hometown newspaper and its Web site become more crediblethan they are. Share your ideas in class.
9. Name five things you would do to help your local television station and its Web site become more crediblethan they are. Share your ideas in class.
10. Reread the section in Chapter 7 on situational ethics. Then try to find examples of stories in the newspaperor online for which the senior editors probably would have drafted a policy, such as listing the causeof death in obituaries or identifying juvenile crime suspects. Share your findings in class.
11. A magazine reveals that 25 years ago Stephen Goodman was released from prison after serving a 10-yearterm on a conviction of molesting children. During the past 25 years, Goodman has been an outstandingcitizen in town and has been honored for his volunteer work with children. Goodman’s family, friendsand business associates were unaware of his past criminal conviction. What are the ethical implications ofpublishing this information?
12. Reread the section in Chapter 7 on sensitivity and good taste. Then copy edit the following story, payingparticular attention to stereotypical images:
Relatives of a Gypsy family with strong ties to Kansas City allegedly have
stolen about one million dollars in at least 7 states over the last several
years by defrauding dozens of fortune telling customers according to police,
prosecuters, and lawyers.
At least 16 relatives of the Marks family, a klan of Gypsy fortunetellers
that has for decades had roots in the Metropolitan area, have been found
guilty or face charges in connextion with the alleged scams.
Officials are quick to add, however that not all people named Marks
are gypsies, nor are all of the estimated 2 dozen Marks gypsies in the
metropolitan area involved in fortunetelling fraud. Furthermore, only a small
percentage of gypsies in the country are engaged in criminal activities
officials said. Only 5 family members in this area have faced such criminal
charges in recent years.
Police and prosecutors in several of the seven states where Marks family
members have been charged have traded information, only to learn that the
same persons allegedly had conducted similar skams in other locations.
Repeated attempts to contract Marks family members alleged to have been
involved in criminal activities were unsucessful.
This year two Marks have been found guilty in Jackson County Circuit court
of felony stealing charges, and another relative pleaded guilty in Jan. to a
theft charge in Wyandote county.
Three family members, including one already serving a prison term,
were indicted Friday by the JacksonCounty grande jury on charges of
stealing over $150.00 by deceit. Det. William Cosgrove, of the Kansas City
police department fraud unit, says that case involved alleged promises by
fortunetellers to restore a local womans eyesite and to cure her of cancer.
Honest fortunetellers do exist, according to Terry Getsay, a national
authority on gypsies who works as a intelligence analyst for the Illinois
Dept. of Law Enforcement. “Most just provide a service, he said.
But fortunetelling also is the common denominator among those Marks
relatives accused by prosecuters of playing the bujo, a centuries old
confidence game that usually victimizes the elderly or those with emotional
problems.
And even when the perpetrators are caught, the victims do not necesarily
win.
“We’ve got two convictions (of fortunetellers in JacksonCounty), and
those victims haven’t got a dime back said Det. David Parker of the police
fraud unit.
Mr. Getsay said the conviction and imprisonment of a gypsy fortuneteller
is a rare occurrence. “The likelihood of restitution, probation or dismissal
or reduction of the charges are much greater than imprisonment he said.
In the bujo, the fortunteller, after reading palms or Tarot cards, tells
the client that the future holds evil. Slight of hand tricks, such as
removing a clump of hair from a newly-broken egg, are used as “evidence” that
a client is possessed by an evil spirit.
The fortuneteller then says she must have all the victim’s money-- the root
of all evil-- so it can be cleansed and the evil removed.
Some fortunetellers say the money will be used to buy special candles.
Others say it will be burned or buried in a grave yard. Nearly always,
however, the fortune teller promises to return the money, or even to double
or triple the amount, once the evil has been exorcised.
Instead offi cials say, the victim frequently sees n either the money nor the
fortune teller again. “This,” Detective Cosgrove said, “is more than just
palm reading.
13. Edit this story for the Centerville daily newspaper:
appointment
Mayor Dwight Smyth held a press conference yesterday afternoon at 3:30 P.M.
at the City-county building in downtown Centerville. At the press conference
the mayor made known to the assembled press, various city officials and
interested public the identity of the newlyappointed Director of the Office
of Economic Development, whom he selected from a list of three possibilities
submitted to him by a search committee. The person selected by the mayor
is Mrs. Mary Berryman, who has served in a similar capacity in the city of
Riverside.
During the press conference the mayor said “Mrs. Berry, is a first rate
organizer and planner and will do a first rate job for Centerville citizens in
her new post. Her appointment culmenates a six month nationwide search and
the search committee couldn’t be happier with it’s choice the major said. “We
are indeed fortunete to have a person of Mrs. Berrys statute join our city
staff Mayor Smyth told onlookers.
Mrs. Berryman is married to Reverend John Berryman, who is a minister of a
Baptist church in Riverside. Reverend John Berryman said that his plans are
uncertain now but that he hoped to relocate to Centerville now that his wife
has gotten this new job. Reverend John Berryman has been pastor of the Second
BaptistChurch in Riverside for the past 5 years. Before that time he was
pastor of a church in Lawrence. He graduate from Southwest Baptist Semenary
in Ft. Worth, Tex. in 1975.
Mrs. Berryman was one of 15 applicants for the job in a nation wide search.
She was one of three finalists whom was recommended by a search committee
appointed by the City Council last July 1991. The search committee screened
applicants, conducted interviews and forwarded 3 names to Mayor Smyth, who
made the final selection. As economic development director, Mrs. Mary Berryman
will over see a staff composing two assistant directors and three clerical
workers. The office is charged with bringing new businesses and industry to
Centerville to help increase job opportunities and to broaden the cities’
tax base. Mary, a youngish looking grandmother, wore a black dress and long
gold earrings for today’s ceremony. She used crutches during her introduction
because she is recovering from a broken leg which she received last month.
She will move to Centerville from Riverside where she held the position
of assistant economic development director for the past 2 years. She has
over ten years of experience in municiple financial planning and economic
development. She earned a masters degree in public administration in 1980.
Mrs. John Berryman replaces Sam Spade in her new post. Spade left the
office 6months ago after ten years on the job. He now has a similiar position
in Podunk.
“Frankly, the office is in a financial mess and has been for the past
ten years or so” Mayor Smyth said this morning during the announcement
ceremony.”The city has spent a bundle on auditers but we still are unable to
account for all the money that went through that office during Sam’s tgenure,
the mayor said. “Mary will be a careful and honest administrater” the mayor
said.
Due to financial accounting problems in Centerville and several other
cities in the state in recent years, legislation has been introduced in the
state legislature which will require anual audits of all city funds in cities
throughout the state.
Mrs. Berryman, an articulate black woman, answered questions from newsmen
after she was introduced at the press conference. She inferred that she has
all ready began efforts to attract a major manufacturer to Centerville. She
said that farther meetings with the firm, that she declined to name, were
scheduled for later this month. “I know that my predecessor was involved in
some questionable financial dealings with city funds, but let me assure the
citizens of Centerville that every penny will be accounted for while I’m
in charge” Mrs. Berryman told newsmen. Berry said that as one of her first
changes in the office, she planned to institute new computer software to
facilitate bookeeping in the office.
Mrs. Berryman is a member of the National City Planners Association, the
Women’s Christian Temperence Union, and the National Organization of Women.
City workers were disappointed that they did not get a free lunch
yesterday. Original plans called for Mrs. Berryman to meet with city workers
at a noon picnic in the park next to the CityCounty Bldg. but colder
temperatures forced cancellation of the picnic. It will be rescheduled.
14. Conduct a search to find discussions of media ethics online. Try Web sites of media organizations first,such as Online Journalism Review at the Poynter Institute at the Society of Professional Journalists at See whether you can find others on yourown. Share your results in class.