A 750 word assignment which will ask you to write resolutions to ethical issues in journalism.
You are a reporter who discovers that a man serving a lengthy prison sentence, for the illegal possession of guns and for membership of an illegal organisation during a violent conflict, is willing to talk about the situation.
When you meet the prisoner, he says he will talk only on a strictly confidential basis. In return for his being candid, you must agree not to reveal his identity. On those grounds, in the belief that his information will be of public interest, you give your word.
He speaks mainly about his part in the banned organisation and its activities. But during the course of your tape-recorded interview with him he reveals that he has been guilty of murdering a man.
You then write an article for your newspaper in which you report much of what the man has told you, including the fact that the organisation he belonged to was responsible for the unsolved killing of a man. As agreed, you conceal the man’s identity.
However, when police officers see the article, they realise the likely identity of the prisoner and, on checking, discover that you have visited him in prison. They request that you hand over the tape-recordings and notes of your interview and also request that, should there be a trial, you will you act as a prosecution witness.
You understand that it is a journalist’s duty to protect confidential sources. You are also aware that you and your fellow journalists are working within an arena of conflict. How do you respond to the police request and what is your reasoning?
****PLEASE WRITE THIS ESSAY BASED ON THE UK MEDIA SYSTEMS AND UK ETHICS, RULES AND STANDARDS.
ALSO
PLEASE analyze the ethical problem presented by the need to balance the proffessional norms which demand the maintenance confidentiality of sources, with the requirements of a citizen to support and obey the law.
Identify both the ethical and the legal pressures on a journalist required to break a confidentiality agreement.
USE opinions from written or verbal sources to support your argument.
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