Ethics: Teens and Ecstasy

I would not hesitate to publish the story containing the whereabouts of the locations where ecstasy and drugs were sold to students in the school. Although the article would not reflect well upon the school itself, it is too important for the public to know the details. The more the public is aware of, the easier it will be to terminate the problem. For instance, now the people who live near the drug hot-spot will be more careful because of this new awareness, and will probably call the police more often when suspicious activity occurs. Also, parents will know to keep their children away from these areas and perhaps have a conversation with their teens about drugs that they may not have prior to this article.

As far as teens being encouraged to buy drugs because the locations are printed, i do not believe that is the outcome. I went to a very small high school but i can only image that regardless of the size, even student who do not do drugs know about where they could get them if they wanted to. Also, any drug dealer in their right mind would change their location after the publishing of this article, so i really don't understand how it would become a large problem.

A Republican as a Hypocrite.

I would never hesitate to publish a story about this candidate's past abortion. Her inconsistent views in an area as controversial as abortion can only be an indicator of what her term could be like if she were elected. Being such, the voters and the community have a right to know her actual position on abortion. 

Being that the main source in this story is from an ex-husband and not altogether unbiased, I would seek a comment from the candidate. Also, there could possibly be more to the story than just the fact that she is a hypocrite. It is possible that she only changed her position on abortion only after she experienced one for herself. In the end, I would write the story using the documented medical evidence, the testimony from the husband, and the comment (or lack of one) from the candidate, to write the story. 

Ethics Blog

I believe that the article should run. The public deserves to know the truth about the candidate and what her actual views on the subject of abortion. However, I do think that it is wrong to get the information from the ex-husband. While this information is most likely accurate, it does not seem right to publish it without something from the candidate herself. She should explain her previous actions and explain why she has different views now. I believe that more information on her personal experience and what caused her to have an abortion may help her situation. She should express her feelings to the public and help them to understand. The information is extremely relevant to the campaign itself, which is why I would publish it; however, I do not believe it would be well-published without her own quotes included in the article because there may be more to the story.

Teen Scene

I would look into running another in addition to the first one written after I went back and tried to figure out how biased my story actually was. I'd interview more students, teachers, parents, etc and try and figure out if there are any good things worth reporting to supplement the earlier article. But if I didn't find anything new, I wouldn't write the second story and I wouldn't try to put a positive spin on the situation if there were no positives there in the first place.

Ethics, Abortions and Republicans (Great combination)

I believe that the information on the Republican candidate who had once had an abortion should be printed because of the inconsistency of her vocal views and beliefs versus what she has done in the past. It would be unfair if she were to implement a law against abortions in the future, while she has a past record showing that she has committed the act. I would allow her to make a comment on the matter because of the delicate subject and I would want her to be able to give her reasoning as to why she had the abortion and is now against it. I would use all information attained from the husband. Rather than focusing the story on the fact that she would be considered a hypocrite for her newfound beliefs, I would shine the light on her story and her reasoning as to why she is now in opposition to abortions.

Ethics Debate: Front Page Politics

I would not hesitate to publish a story about the candidate's abortion. It has been proven as a fact with medical records, so this is not a case of libel. Instead, the publication would be an example of uncovering shady politics and exposing a "Do as I Say, Not as I Do" candidate. If I were originally supporting this candidate for her anti-abortion policies, I would be outraged at the hypocrisy and I would have the right to know about the candidate's abortion. This isn't a case of wether or not the subject is in the media spotlight or not. She could be a small-town nobody or a presidential candidate and I would feel the same way. No one should be able to get away with blatantly lying to those who respect them.

I would not agree to print a second story. The reporter followed and the paper printed a story that is very relevant, and nothing the reporter did was unethical. Instead of demanding a follow up story that has no point, the school officials and parents should use this story to address the problem. There is a lot of relevance to the story, and that should be embraced. The story reports the fact that the program is not working as well as it probably should be. By printing the first story, the school and program can take steps to ensure it is more effective instead of ignoring the problem. By printing a second story, it would discredit the first story and its facts in a way. Also, the story does not encourage kids to buy drugs; it prints the facts, which is a newspaper’s job. If the reporter was able to find enough information to produce an accurate, factual, unbiased story about how the program is ineffectual, then there is no reason to run a second story.

The Enterprise Press: Front Page Politics

Given the circumstances surrounding the issue at hand, I would not hesitate to publish the story. The relevance of the candidate's abortion cannot be ignored, as it reveals a major contradiction in her politics that readers deserve to know about. Politicians must be prepared to face the fact that their pasts will be heavily researched by opponents and journalists alike, and that it is a common occurrence for controversial issues to surface during heated campaigns.

The ethical dilemma lies not in whether the information is reported, but how it was obtained. According to the excerpt, the evidence confirming the abortion was provided by the candidate's ex-husband via private medical documentation. However, it is my understanding that journalists have the right to report such information, as long as it is obtained independently from a private agent; a process not governed by health privacy laws such as HIPAA. Although the medical records were offered without the candidate's consent, that is a separate matter between private parties and should not be viewed as any sort of intrusion on the journalist's part.

I would therefore publish the story and anticipate a statement by the candidate either denying the allegations or defending her choice. She simply can't ignore the possibility that this significant event in her past will resurface in relation to her politics.

Ethics

I really do not think the newspaper needs to run another article.  These classes are designed for the students , therefore the students input is what is most important.  The students are the best way to measure whether or not the program works, and it is obvious that the program is not effective.  There is an evident drug problem with these students and it is important to expose it.  All the school officials want to sugarcoat the issue and keep the school's integrity in place.   The reality of the story is that the school's drug problem needs to be dealt with more intensely.  The running of this article is a opportunity for the school to fix a flawed program.   Take for instance the section of the article about where the drugs are sold.  Instead of telling students where to find and buy the drug, they can use this as an opportunity to clean that area up.  Running this article and not running a cover up can prove beneficial to the students and the school.

Ethical Debate

I would, without a question, run the story about the abortion, relating to the candidate and her extremely exposed opposition to the issue. Although running the information may hurt the candidate's campaign, the information is completely relevant and the public absolutely has the right to be informed. If the candidate indeed has a valid explanation for her hypocrisy, then she should discuss it openly so that her views and actions are not misunderstood. Abortion is a very serious and personal issue, however, in this case it is so closely related to the candidate and her campaign values that it needs to be exposed.

Front Page Politics

If the medical evidence was substantial then I would most likely publish that the candidate has had an abortion in the past. Because she is running for office, the public has a right to know about the abortion since she is so outspoken about her opposition towards abortion. It would not be fair for her to implement policies prohibiting women from obtaining an abortion if she herself has had one. Also, it would not be fair for her to speak against abortion just to gain votes and please constituents if that is not what she truly believes. If the candidate's current position on abortion is based on her past abortion, then it should be discussed with the public so that they may better understand her view. 

Front Page Politics

In this situation, I would not hesitate to publish this information. The fact that she has had an abortion when so outspoken against them is extremely important to the issues at hand. If the case is that she changed her mind about abortions because of what she went through with her own experience then she shouldn't hold back to comment about it and should be open to telling the public about it so they can see how she is personally connected to the issue. However, since she is not willing to comment it suggests that she is supporting the issue for the wrong reasons which the public has a right to know about. Even though this issue is very personal to the candidate, it has relevance to the election and what is going on in her political life and I would not have a problem with publishing this story.

Ethics Scenario

In this case, I would not agree to have another article printed. It would just be a biased article that doesn’t really tell the truth about the situation. I don’t see anything the reporter did or wrote as unethical, he is giving the story that he found through interviewing the teens. He can’t just ignore the information that he found to please school and local officials. The article shows the problems with drug use, it is in no way encouraging it. The officials should not be ignoring the fact that their program is ineffective in discouraging the drug use. There is no reason to interview kids who do not need the program; the reporter was right to talk to the ones who need the program to actually be effective. These kids are the ones that you will want to gear the program towards – the officials should be interested in finding out what it is that causes the teens to get into the drugs, and how they get them. You can use this information to help them. This seems much more useful then complaining about how the media is making the school's program look unproductive. If the reporter shows the program as having no impact, there was obviously reason for this to be the case.

Teen Scene

If I were the reporter I would not run an additional article about teens that don't drink. I do not believe what the reporter did was unethical. He did not lie or exaggerate. He had permission to interview the teens and that is what he did. He just reported the truth. I do not believe it is the newspapers job to portray a good image or example for teens. The newspapers job is to report the truth. I think mentioning where the drugs were bought gives the story credibility. I do not think it encourages teens to do drugs.