Journalism Ethics Scenarios
Ethics in Journalism Quiz
Test your knowledge and understanding of journalism ethics with this engaging quiz. Dive into real-world scenarios that challenge your decision-making and ethical reasoning in various reporting situations.
- 7 thought-provoking questions
- Multiple choice format
- Learn the implications of ethical dilemmas in journalism
You just finished an interview with a new source and then received an email saying that the source has tried to add you as a friend on Facebook. You:
Accept. Your publication has no right telling you whom you can be friends with.
Decline. You explain to the source that such a friendship could create the perception of bias.
A city councilman provides a tip off the record that the city manager is going to resign. We have total faith in the accuracy of this tip but have agreed not to publish the story unless we can get it confirmed by somebody else. We can’t but are worried that the competition also has the story. What should we do?
Don’t write the story if we can’t get a confirmation, because that is the agreement we made.
Write the story. The tip provided from the source is “fair game” since they knew they were talking with a member of the media.
While trying to transcribe the audio from an interview with a source, you accidentally erase your recording. You call your source to schedule another interview, but she says that she won’t have time before your deadline and that you should, “Just use quotes from your memory.” You indeed have a good memory of the interview, so you:
Leave the source out of the story.
Agree to make up the quotes based on your memory, but insist that the source look them over before publishing them.
You need a photograph of a senior you are profiling in the newspaper, and you notice that he has his professionally shot senior photographs posted on his Facebook page, which is open to the public. You:
The student's account is not blocked, so you do not have to ask permission to use the photograph.
Avoid using the photograph.
A source tells you that she has pertinent information about an ongoing scandal at your school, but she wants to go “off the record” before she tells you details. You:
Agree to go “off the record.” The source says she has pertinent information and you doubt that you can retrieve the information elsewhere. You will be sure to print the information anonymously.
Decline the information. “Off the record” talk usually brings with it all sorts of legal problems.
You’ve been assigned to do a review on a local spa. Before you begin writing your review, the spa owner offers to give you every service offered for free, which includes a massage, facial, manicure and pedicure. What do you do?
Accept the offer. You’ll be able to write a thorough review by experiencing everything that the spa has to offer.
Decline the offer. If you take the spa owner up on the free offer, you are biased from the start.
During the parent band booster meeting at your house, you hear one of the parents talk about school issues. Immediately, you grab your voice recorder and slyly place it under the couch. After everyone leaves, you replay the tape. You have a treasure trove of information — including allegations the soccer coach regularly curses out players. What do you do with this information? *In Indiana, it is legal to audio record someone as long as one member of the party is aware. How does this impact your answer?
Do not run a story. The information was gathered unethically. Any information obtained through this method should be discarded.
Legally, you are free from libel and should run the story, including the audio clips as your sources.
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