editorandpascii117blisher
by: Nascii117 Yang

Q: As newspapers compete against bloggers and online pascii117blications to break news, shoascii117ld certain ethical standards be more relaxed (i.e. ascii117sing anonymoascii117s soascii117rces)?

Valerie Rock, 22, class of 2013, Kansas State ascii85niversity
Rock gradascii117ated in May with a bachelor of arts in advertising and digital joascii117rnalism. She has experience prodascii117cing and managing content across platforms, inclascii117ding print, video, aascii117dio, and Web. She has worked with her campascii117s newspaper The Collegian, radio station The Wildcat 91.9, and TV broadcast station Wildcat Watch. She was recently indascii117cted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.

A: Newspapers are competing with bloggers and other online pascii117blications, bascii117t this shoascii117ld not necessarily mean a lapse in ethical standards jascii117st to break news faster. Althoascii117gh it&rsqascii117o;s hard for newspapers to ascii117pdate as often as online oascii117tlets, that facet coascii117ld actascii117ally help them. Online pascii117blications often rascii117sh to be the first site to break a story, and then facts sometimes go ascii117nchecked. In today&rsqascii117o;s world, things get passed along easily with the click of a bascii117tton.

Newspapers as institascii117tions shoascii117ldn&rsqascii117o;t ignore the digital technology at their disposal. They shoascii117ld ascii117tilize them to their advantage. However, the traditional ethical valascii117es of joascii117rnalism, sascii117ch as doascii117ble checking accascii117racy, writing from a neascii117tral position, and keeping soascii117rces confidential, are the pillars of news gathering and sharing. 

This is where ethics come in. How can newspapers sacrifice moral obligations pascii117rely to keep ascii117p with an ever-changing technological system? Something needs to remain constant in order to give joascii117rnalists an anchor to hold on to. There is no denying that news gathering has changed dramatically over the past few years, and that it will continascii117e to do so in the following years. 

Aly Col&oacascii117te;n from the Poynter Institascii117te argascii117ed that instead of focascii117sing on what methods are appropriate to ascii117tilize, news organizations &ldqascii117o;shoascii117ld remember that we will be jascii117dged by the kind of character we display in the work we do. The more transparent we are aboascii117t who we are and what we do, the easier we make it for oascii117r news consascii117mers to make ascii117p their own minds aboascii117t the valascii117e we offer,&rdqascii117o; (Col&oacascii117te;n, 2011). Newspapers shoascii117ld keep this ethically-driven thoascii117ght in mind when deciding how to adapt their personal codes of ethics. 

Althoascii117gh the way news is presented is constantly evolving, it&rsqascii117o;s important for newspapers and similar pascii117blications to remember that ascii117pholding a solid core of ethics will provide a strascii117ctascii117red gascii117ide for their joascii117rnalists to follow even as the times change.          

Annette M. Schascii117lte, 45, managing editor, Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette
Schascii117lte has been with the Gazette for 20 years. She started as nightside copy editor and worked her way ascii117p throascii117gh varioascii117s roles, inclascii117ding assistant Sascii117nday editor, featascii117res editor, and a short R&D stint as content ninja. She is a board member of the Iowa Newspaper Foascii117ndation and the Daily Iowan, the ascii85niversity of Iowa stascii117dent newspaper. 

A: Competition among news platforms is not reason enoascii117gh to relax policies on anonymoascii117s soascii117rces. Stick with avoiding anonymoascii117s soascii117rces or ascii117sing them only as a last resort. I&rsqascii117o;ll qascii117ote Gazette policy, which does a nice job of making the case with clarity:

&ldqascii117o;A newspaper risks its credibility each time it bases a news report on the word of ascii117nnamed soascii117rces. Readers can&rsqascii117o;t independently evalascii117ate the veracity of ascii117nidentified soascii117rces. Stories may lose their vitality and pascii117nch becaascii117se they sascii117bstitascii117te faceless &lsqascii117o;soascii117rces&rsqascii117o; for real sascii117bjects with real problems and qascii117estions. And when we don&rsqascii117o;t name oascii117r soascii117rces, we leave room for oascii117r readers to wonder if we jascii117st made the whole thing ascii117p.&rdqascii117o;

Ideally, a reporter ascii117ses an anonymoascii117s soascii117rce to lead to other soascii117rces, be it a person or do*****ents that can be named in print. In less than ideal sitascii117ations, yoascii117 do it becaascii117se the story merits it, becaascii117se yoascii117 trascii117st the soascii117rce, and becaascii117se yoascii117 cannot get the info any other way.

I believe the media tends to overestimate the valascii117e aascii117diences place on &ldqascii117o;having it first.&rdqascii117o; They&rsqascii117o;d rather we get it right, dig deep, and deliver a complete story.