Ch 10

Sunday, September 9, 2007

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Posted by James T Daye at 6:11 PM 0 comments

Chapter 11
The best approach is to run the story and suggest a headline like "Police Stonewall in bashing case" to expose the threat the officer made to you. This then primes the audience and your employer for the retaliation if it follows, and gives an explanation that preempts the punishment. Running the story is not a betrayal to the sources at the station, a paper is entitled to cover both sides of issues. While it is vital to pursue good relationships with sources, they should never be allowed to dictate terms to journalists, especially not regarding content. Agreements and promises are fine to keep people happy, but that does not extend to obeying threats of a blackout if a possibly explosive story is followed as it should be.
The other good reason not to obey the officer's threat is the same as stated above. If the station does retaliate by cutting your paper "out of the loop", then the problem becomes a problem between your whole paper and the station, you are not to blame, you had a superior give you orders. If you obey the officer, then the dispute suddenly is between you and your chief of staff.
Therefore, if you face removal from the round anyway, it becomes perfect that you publish the story because then at least your superiors will be satisfied, and they can hardly force you into the position of losing contacts at the station, and then keep you on with no contacts.

Think about it, it's no good keeping your contacts at the station if you get removed from the round anyway, what's the use of that? Better to run the story and take your chances, if you do lose the round this way, it will be for acting maturely enough to withstand an outsider's threat and be loyal enough to obey a superior. Better to lose the round for loyalty than disloyalty. It's the chief of staff you have to keep working with, not the police station.
2. In this case it again comes down to personal power and weakness. I cannot deny here that I have seen another student's blog entry, where she said there is no harm in simply giving the woman a sympathetic angle, thus keeping the story but also not attacking the woman if she is in a vulnerable state. I think that was a good suggestion this other student made, to say "what sort of society is it where a woman is charged with simply stealing a pair of stockings?"
Anyway, in this case I would not run the story as I originally intended. The reason is that anyone talking like that should be viewed with caution.
compared to the resort story, there is no harm done to the public if the story is not kept as is, second there may be great harm if you ignore her. Therefore, proceed with caution, and remember that it might not be worth it to stringently enforce the rule on this occasion.
3. People do not lose their career for drink driving; they lose their license. The story is worth reporting, the offer of bribes may have been an emotional overreaction done out of fear/anxiety, and maybe you should just report what you can prove, which is the conviction. It is not the end of the world to treat celebrities like everybody else, they may not like it, but they do not deserve special treatment. However, you must stringently warn the person that if they continue to offer improper inducements, you will be forced to report it. You must make absolutely clear that you never considered accepting the bribes.
4. Although employers want independent journalists, this story is far too heavy to proceed without advice from your superiors and their lawyers. You may unwittingly commit contempt of court, defamation, perverting the course of justice or any number of offenses against the proper workings of the trial, even by simply talking to the juror. You could get sued by the police or fined by the court. The best answer is to immediately cease any contact with the juror until you know where you stand legally. You may also be forced to report the accusations whether you want to or not.
Posted by James T Daye at 6:10 PM 0 comments