[scales]

Activity 1:Ethical dilemmas

Task

Read the following ethical dilemmas. Your staff must come to a consensus as to how you would go about solving these ethical problems. Your reporters are looking to you for guidance. The responsibility of the decisions will rest with the editors.

The resources below will serve as a guide.

Ethical dilemmas

  1. A student council member wants to write about the council's meeting for the newspaper. He says his experience will give him an edge in writing about the group's activities and agenda. Should you let him do it?
  2. One of your reporters gets a tip that a teacher in the English department was arrested for marijuana possession when he was 18 years old. She confirms the information through police records. The 36 year old teacher is married with two small children, and is currently the advisor of Students Against Drunk Driving. Should you run the story?
  3. A reporter finds out that a member of the basketball team is HIV positive. The reporter interviews the player who says he wants the information to be kept secret. Is there a story here? What if it were a faculty member that were affected?
  4. A student's locker is searched and drugs are found. The 18-year-old is arrested and expelled for drug possession. Can you print the story?
  5. The football team loses the championship game in double overtime. A reporter interviews the coach who is furious. The coach uses excessive profanity in explaining why his team lost the game. Should the reporter quote him?
  6. A student and his father sue the school over its "unconstitutional" haircode policy. The local media has been covering the story, and the suit is currently in court. Should the paper report on the case? What about printing an editorial about the situation? What if the student suing wants their "letter-to-the-editor" printed?

Resources

Go to Activity 2

Back to home page