Scenarios

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

Off-the-record chat – scenario

Transparency and full disclosure – scenario

In this scenario a reporter embedded with the military and closely monitored in a war zone wanders off and discovers a story the army wouldn't want him to tell.

Off-the-record chat – scenario

In this scenario we look at what a journalist should do with off-the-record information when it relates to a major news event.

Photo journalism – scenario

In this scenario a reporter tells the newsdesk that she has a strong news story only to find that the facts were not as they seemed.

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?

Public interest – scenario

This scenario looks at some of the issues that need to be considered when deciding whether a story is in the public interest.

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?

Editorial impartiality – scenario

In this scenario a reporter covering a story about medical malpractice in a hospital discovers that the consultant involved is a relative. What should they do?

Withholding information – scenario

In this scenario a journalist comes across information that changes the focus of a story the editor had asked them to write. Should they include it or withhold it.