Real World Ethical Dilemmas (6)

Q. Hi. I'm a reporter on a severely understaffed national newspaper. A friend recently gave me a word-processing program which will switch around and rewrite the sentences in a press release (but leave the meaning intact). My question is that since most of my job revolves around rewriting press releases, would using this program be unethical?

A. Good question! And the answer is a big resounding No! You see, by using this program, it gives you time to cruise the Internet and look for other press releases to rewrite. That's called "enterprise journalism" my friend, and believe me, your editor will love you for it.