Chapter 3: Reporters and Chapter 3: Reporters and SourcesSources

The cases in this chapter examine the ethics of the relationship between a reporter and his

sources.

• In what way should unnamed news souces be properly used?

• What kinds of procedures should organizations use to insure unnamed sources are used properly?

• Should anonymous sources be used in reporting at all?

Chapter 3 CasesChapter 3 Cases

• Case 11: Covering the Middle East

• Case 12: Stolen Voice Mail

• Case 13: Embedded Reporters

• Case 14: Risky Foods

Case 11: Covering the Middle Case 11: Covering the Middle EastEast

• Facts – Empirical Definition

• Values

• Principles

• Loyalties

Images of the violence and grief that effect both sides in the Middle East.

• How could reporters best apply Aristotle’s mean to reporting fairly on the Middle East?

•How would this view effect the specific issues?

•What should reporters do in order to gain a better understanding of the “underlying historical and political background”?

Case 11: Additional linksCase 11: Additional links

Defining News in the Middle East - A discussion of how news from the Middle East is reporting.

The Arab-Israeli Conflict - A brief history of the conflict.The Road Map to Peace - An assessment of the Road

Map.The Mideast: A century of conflict - An NPR broadcast

on the conflict.Questions of Balance in the Middle East - A discussion

about balance in reporting on the Middle East.

Case 12: Stolen Voice MailCase 12: Stolen Voice Mail

• Facts – Empirical Definition• Values• Principles• Loyalties

Pictures of the Chiquita article from the Enquirer, George Ventura, and the Chiquita logo.

• Should reporters be able to reveal their sources in a court of law?

• What are the implications of a reporter becoming emotionally involved in a story?

• Could the Chiquita story have been just as effective without the information taken from the stolen voice mail?

Case 12: Additional linksCase 12: Additional linksChiquita Secrets Revealed - The entire Enquirer story

about Chiquita.An Apology to Chiquita - The Enquirer’s apology to

Chiquita.George and His Jungle - The story of George Ventura’s

role in the Chiquita story.Banana Peel - The Columbia Journalism Review’s take

on the scandal and Mike Gallagher’s role.How Far Is Too Far? - Examines how far investigative

journalist should go using the Chiquita case as an example.

The Chiquita Aftermath - The American Journalism Review’s assessment of Gallagher and the situation surrounding him.

Case 13: Embedded Case 13: Embedded ReportersReporters

• Facts – Empirical Definition• Values• Principles• Loyalties

Images of the Iraq war and embedded reporters.

• Can reporters be expected to deliver an objective story while under the stress of war?

• Can embedded reporters give a broad enough view of the situation?

• What is the effect of the limited scope of embedded reporter’s stories?

Case 13: Additional linksCase 13: Additional linksInside View - An inside look at the embed system.The Media and the War on Iraq - In depth

coverage of the media and the war.BBC Report - A BBC report on embedded

journalists.Defining News in the Middle East - An assessment

of embeds and their effectiveness.Re-thinking Objectivity - A discussion of embeds

and objectivity.War Stories - A PBS video analysis of the embed

system.

Case 14: Risky FoodsCase 14: Risky Foods

• Facts – Empirical Definition• Values• Principles• Loyalties

There are many safety issues with food that the media likes to latch onto. One example of going to far, though, was the “Alar Scare.”

• Is it the media’s job to do risk reporting?

• Should the press be the guarantor of public health, or dows this job belong to the government and consumers?

• Is it right for the media to “stage” high risk stories? Do they report on these stories to warn of a real risk, or for entertainment value?

Case 14: Additional linksCase 14: Additional linksAn Unhappy Anniversary – Looking back at the Alar

scare.Myth of the Alar Scare - Another look at the stir Alar

caused.The Media, Risk Assessment, and Numbers - A look

at how the media reports risk.Hype in Health Reporting - An article about how the

media influences the public’s thinking about health.Health in the News - A look at how influential health

related news stories can be.The Plot Against Alar - An interview with a reporter

who wrote a special story on the Alar myth.