Real World Ethical Dilemmas
Unfortunately, sometimes that expensive J-School education doesn't provide an answer to all those tricky moral conundrums which reporters face out there in the "real world." To help fill this need, here's the first installment of what I hope to be an on-going series.
Q. A lot of times when I'm on the phone with someone I'm interviewing, they go off on a wild tangent, giving me a lot of stuff which I'll never use in my article. In order not to hurt their feelings, should I keep taking notes or should I just randomly hit keys so they keep hearing the "clickety-click-click" sound on the other end of the line?
A. Good question! Randomly hitting keys might seem like the most logical choice here but in a work environment, with editors peering over your shoulder, that probably isn't the best course of action. Better yet, why don't use this "dead time" to work on a novel?
Q. I'm a young, reasonably good looking male reporter on a smalltown newspaper. I often cover local community events (like the annual Fourth of July picnic) and I'm curious. How many "real people" do I have to talk to before I start using my pad and pencil as props to hit on women?
A. Another good question! Sure, most general assignment articles can be done by a reasonably intelligent 7-year-old, but that's no excuse for shirking off what little work you actually have to do. According to a recent study by the University of Missouri, four real people is the magic number. After that, you're good to go, baby!
And if you're really interested in a job where you can wander around town randomly interacting with good looking young women (drinking from a waterfountain, twirling a baton, sunbathing), have you ever thought about becoming a staff photographer?
Q. A lot of times when I'm on the phone with someone I'm interviewing, they go off on a wild tangent, giving me a lot of stuff which I'll never use in my article. In order not to hurt their feelings, should I keep taking notes or should I just randomly hit keys so they keep hearing the "clickety-click-click" sound on the other end of the line?
A. Good question! Randomly hitting keys might seem like the most logical choice here but in a work environment, with editors peering over your shoulder, that probably isn't the best course of action. Better yet, why don't use this "dead time" to work on a novel?
Q. I'm a young, reasonably good looking male reporter on a smalltown newspaper. I often cover local community events (like the annual Fourth of July picnic) and I'm curious. How many "real people" do I have to talk to before I start using my pad and pencil as props to hit on women?
A. Another good question! Sure, most general assignment articles can be done by a reasonably intelligent 7-year-old, but that's no excuse for shirking off what little work you actually have to do. According to a recent study by the University of Missouri, four real people is the magic number. After that, you're good to go, baby!
And if you're really interested in a job where you can wander around town randomly interacting with good looking young women (drinking from a waterfountain, twirling a baton, sunbathing), have you ever thought about becoming a staff photographer?
posted by The Gambino Crime Family at 3:52 AM
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