Scenarios
Test your editorial awareness with our news scenarios, which are all based on real situations faced by journalists.
Emotional pressure – scenario
How should a reporter respond when someone uses emotional pressure and threats to try to stop them doing their job?
Accuracy – scenario
In this scenario a reporter witnesses a mass walkout of workers from a factory affected by industrial action. The company claims it's business as usual; the union says all workers have downed tools.
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.
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.
Emotional assumptions – scenario
In this scenario a journalist lets their own emotional assumptions colour their news judgement resulting in misinformation.
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.
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Journalism and the public interest
A journalist has no right to intrude on the personal lives of others except in cases where doing so will serve the public interest. We need to be crystal clear on what we mean by public interest.
Disinformation and misinformation
Journalists attempting to deal with 'fake news' need to understand the difference between disinformation and misinformation.