Scenarios

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

Withholding information – scenario

Trespass and journalism – scenario

In this scenario we look at a situation where a journalist is faced with breaking the law in order to gather essential information for informing the public debate.

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?

Emotional pressure – scenario

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

Testing boundaries – scenario

In this scenario we look at a situation where an editor faces breaking protocol because of the strength of a story.

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?

Journalistic integrity – scenario

In this scenario a political correspondent working for a broadcaster is asked to speak at an event organised by a political party - but there is a catch.

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.

Journalistic ethics – scenario

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