Scenarios
Test your editorial awareness with our news scenarios, which are all based on real situations faced by journalists.
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.
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.
Informed consent – scenario
In this scenario a reporter covering a disaster finds a grief-stricken woman who he films in order to feature in his report before discovering the truth about the tragedy behind her emotions.
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?
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.
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.
Right of reply – scenario
When should journalists offer a right of reply? All the time, sometimes, never? Try our ethical scenario and add your comments.
Emotional assumptions – scenario
In this scenario a journalist lets their own emotional assumptions colour their news judgement resulting in misinformation.
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