Workbook Ch. 1.12–13

John Nekrasov
Sep 5, 2018 · 2 min read

12. In my opinion, publishing the name of the nurse involved in the incident would be unfair and unethical journalism. In writing the news, journalists try to release the clearest, most complete version of events to the public while respecting people’s privacy. In theory, the most complete story would include the nurse’s name. However, naming the nurse on duty at the time of the child’s death could be interpreted as an indictment, but with no concrete evidence of the nurse’s responsibility, placing implied blame upon the nurse is essentially conjecture and thus neither accurate nor fair.

On the other hand, some might say that the nurse’s transferal to a new job heavily implies her responsibility for the death, and that therefore she should be held accountable. However, other interpretations are still viable — she may have even been transferred due to her own personal trauma from the incident. If clear evidence delineated that the death was the nurse’s fault (as opposed to a surgery or recovery complication), then accuracy and fairness to the child’s family might require that the nurse be named. Without such evidence, however, jeopardizing the rest of the nurse’s career out of mere conjecture is ultimately unfair journalism, and leaving her anonymous in the report would be the ethical choice.

13. Checking stories with their sources before publication is a policy that can have advantages, particularly in regards to representing sources well, but is not very common due to the potential of added bias. One advantage is that journalists are kept accountable to honestly represent sources, ensuring that they use sources in context and show the sources’ viewpoints fairly. Another is that sources are able to clarify that their story is clearly understood, avoiding a reporter making an honest mistake in misunderstanding someone’s viewpoint.

The practice’s main disadvantages, on the other hand, come when sources try to control the article in an unfair manner. First, some sources may attempt to change the article to cast themselves in a more favorable light, adding personal bias into the story. Second, some sources may have intense ideological biases, and they may disapprove of articles using their comments that fail to match their ideological leanings. Finally, a source may make a statement to a reporter and then try to retract it under public pressure, even if it is a crucial component to a developing story. Combined, these factors demonstrate that though checking stories with their sources can be helpful, the policy generally gives sources too much power over the news being released.