More scenarios.....

You are an editor of a daily college paper at a large urban institution. An ad-hoc committee of faculty, staff and administrators provided you with the following feedback two months ago. They suggested that the paper should focus more on campus news and events. The chair of the committee met with you in private later and discussed her concern over the negative publicity that the university was receiving in the local media. Indirectly, she suggested that the college paper might focus on the positive stories around campus.

It is Tuesday evening. You receive a call from a person claiming to be a faculty member of the business school. He will not give out his name, but you check your phone screen and you can tell the call is coming from a campus phone. He tells you that the new incoming Dean of the Business School bounced 15 personal checks over the past year. He also tells you that this person had run two businesses into the ground when he in his 20's. You ask him if he has proof. He says he does, but can't get his hands on it until Friday.

There is a formal presentation to introduce the new Dean scheduled for Thursday at noon. The president of the university will be there, as well as the local media, alums, and local business leaders. It is too late to get the story in Wednesdays paper. You could print it in the Thursday paper, which would come out in the morning right before the ceremony. The paper's academic advisor, is out of town presenting a paper at a conference and she can't be reached.

You are a reporter for a large daily newspaper. You get a call from a reliable source who has given you story tips in the past. You are told that there is a group of young teenagers who are in the police station being questioned. They were picked up in a grave yard and were found with a decapitated chicken, a chalice, a large knife, and some candles. One of the teens you are told is the son of the Mayor.

You call a local professor who follows cults. He tells you that the articles are connected with Satanic ceremonies. You make some calls but you can't get any further confirmation or details.

Your phone rings. It is the Mayor who requests that you not cover the incident in the paper. You ask him if the story is true. He does not answer the question, but tells you that his son has been in counseling for three years and has attempted suicide twice. Before he hangs up, he adds that any little incident could prompt another suicide attempt.

Do you write a story about this ? What details do leave in or out ? Why ?

What Would You Do?

You are broadcasting a live town hall meeting. The town hall meeting is one of several open public meetings that the City of Pleasantville holds every year. Half way through the meeting, an irate City Council member stands up and starts to proclaim his disdain for a local politician. The person goes on and on, and his charges begin to get more and more outrageous. He is clearly slandering the politician, and the remarks he begins to make are so outrageous that there is no way that they can be substantiated.

By broadcasting his remarks, are you leaving you and your station open for a potential libel suit? Why or why not ?

(If you are stumped, see the section on privilege )