Scenarios

Test your editorial awareness with our news scenarios, which are all based on real situations faced by journalists.

Trespass and journalism – scenario

Scenarios

Interviewing integrity – scenario

Withholding information – scenario

Scenario: Conflict of interests

In this scenario you are a political correspondent working for a national public service broadcaster. A lobbying company offers you a significant amount of money to train lobbyists in how to influence the media. What do you do?

Doorstepping – scenario

You are a local newspaper reporter sent out to doorstep a bereaved family but you lie to your news editor because you are reluctant to intrude on their grief.

Privacy protection – scenario

You are working on the online news desk of a large media organisation. News breaks of fighting overseas. Raw footage arrives showing identifiable dead bodies. What do you do?

Returning favours – scenario

In this scenario a naive reporter's early success with a government minister leads to an ethical dilemma when a 'favour' is demanded in return.

Emotional pressure – scenario

How should a reporter respond when someone uses emotional pressure and threats to try to stop them doing their job?

Legal threats – scenario

In this scenario a local newspaper reporter faces legal threats for a factual planning application report that lacked the applicant's demanded "positive spin."

Journalistic ethics – scenario

In this scenario a reporter feels ethically compromised after accepting hospitality from a developer who subsequently pressured them for favourable coverage.

Interviewing integrity – scenario

In this scenario, an award-winning journalist is offered a top job at national TV station, but soon after starting her new job she discovers corruption in the media house.