Scenarios

Journalistic integrity – scenario

You are a political broadcast journalist and are invited to speak at public event where the organisers want you to explain the role of the journalist in covering elections. After the event they offer you a gift, and ask whether you would be prepared to do some media training for politicians. What do you do?

Legal threats – scenario

Journalists often come under pressure with threats of legal action if they don't publish or broadcast what others want. In this scenario we look at a scenario where a reporter is sent a cease and desist letter and told legal action will be taken against them if they don't add 'positive-spin' to an article.

Right of reply – scenario

Try our right of reply scenario where you are the editor of a morning radio news and current affairs programme and just before the bulletin you receive conflicting information that is too late to fact-check.

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 you are a parliamentary reporter being put under pressure to cover a story by a politician who says they did you a favour in the past.

Testing boundaries – scenario

As one of the editors of a government radio news service in a developing democracy you receive information of an imminent threat of famine in a rural area of the country. But you fear that broadcasting the information could anger your employers. What do you do?

Photo journalism – scenario

Scenario: You arrive at a border crossing and see a child sitting by the roadside crying. You think it's been abandoned and take a picture. You alert the newsdesk. But it transpires it's just lost its mother and stops crying when the mother arrives. What should you do?

Dealing with emotional pressure in journalism – scenario

How should a reporter respond when someone uses emotional pressure and threats to try to stop them doing their job? In this scenario we look at a situation where a reporter is begged not to cover a story, and then threatened with violence if they publish. What would you do?

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