In our text, Advancing the Story, we talk about some of the ethical issues raised in the digital age of newsgathering. One newsgathering technique that’s becoming increasingly popular is the use of email to conduct interviews. So, what is your…
The Fox station in Detroit officially parted ways with a highly-paid morning anchor this week. Fanchon Stinger was suspended last month after reports connected her to a controversial city contract that’s now under federal investigation. According to the Detroit News,…
It’s not only still photos falling under suspicion this week, but video as well. An Associated Press story outlines concerns about tornado footage that may have been altered. At issue is video sold to the AP by a freelancer who…
Newspapers and Web sites around the country recently made a serious mistake. They ran an altered photograph of an Iranian missile launch. According to the Photo District News Web site: “The problematic image was distributed by Agence France Presse, which said…
The explosion of online video has raised lots of questions about copyright and fair use. When is it legal to post a chunk of someone else’s video for free? What about the entire work? Can you mashup, remix or alter…
Back in the old days when I worked at CBS News, the standards manual clearly prohibited the use of music in news stories unless it was captured at the scene. If we did use music, we had to show the…
For all the concerns about TV news these days–from the economy to ethics–there’s plenty of evidence that it’s come a long way. That’s one of the many things that struck me as I toured the Newseum for the second time…
In the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal, the New York Times tightened its policy on using unnamed sources. Did it make a difference? According to a study by students at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the answer…
Did they ever really go away? SPJ’s Jon Marshall contends that hidden cameras fell out of favor in TV newsrooms after the ABC News-Food Lion case in 1992. On his NewsGems blog, Marshall writes, “Fortunately, it looks like they’ve made…
I’ve argued for years that journalism students need ethics training to prepare them for the tough calls they’ll have to make on the job. Jerry Ceppos, now the journalism dean at the University of Nevada, Reno, thinks so too. His…
