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.
