This document summarizes a journalism ethics class that covered: 1. Presentations on ethical issues in reporting on Trump and Buzzfeed. 2. A discussion of next step journalism, which involves documenting stories, providing context and verification, and advancing stories through correction and analysis. 3. An assignment to read about moral decision making and comment on classmates' posts, with a quiz upcoming on class material.

1. JOURNALISM ETHICS & ISSUES
CLASS #6 | JRNL 4650 | FALL 2016
• Instructor: Bill Mitchell
• bmitch (at) gmail (dot) com
• 727-641-9407
• 27 September 2016 | Northeastern Univ.

2. WHAT WE’LL DO TODAY:
• Is Talk Cheap? by Mary
• From Trump to The New York Times to BuzzFeed
by Adam
• Deconstructing ethical issues in last night’s debate
• Next Step Journalism
• Tips for your Advancing-the-story assignment
• Assignments for Thursday Sept. 29

3. IS TALK CHEAP?

4. FROM TRUMP TO THE NEW YORK TIMES TO BUZZFEED

12. THE NEXT STEP NEWS PROCESS
(AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE
ADVANCING-A-STORY ASSIGNMENT)
•

13. THE STORY PROCESS
AS A PRECURSOR OF
NEXT STEP JOURNALISM
• Report
• Focus
• Draft
• Rewrite
• Read more about the story process by Chip Scanlan at
http://bit.ly/2d44eVH

14. THE PROCESS OF
NEXT STEP JOURNALISM
• Documentation
• Context
• Transmission & Distribution
• Verification
• Correction
• Analysis
• Sense-making

15. A CASE STUDY OF NEXT STEP JOURNALISM:
THE DEATH OF NEDA AGHA-SOLTAN

16. DOCUMENTATION: CELL PHONE VIDEO
CAPTURED BY BYSTANDERS

17. CONTEXT: AL JAZEERA INTERVIEWS
NEDA’S FINANCE

18. TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION:

19. TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION:
A PROXY SERVER IN OKLAHOMA ASSISTS
NEWS DISTRIBUTION FROM AND WITHIN IRAN

20. VERIFICATION: WELL-KNOWN & TRUSTED
BLOGGER CONFIRMS WHAT HAPPENED

21. CORRECTION: A REPORTER ON THE GROUND
CONFIRMS NEDA WAS W/ HER MUSIC TEACHER,
NOT HER FATHER (AS WAS INITIALLY REPORTED)

22. ANALYSIS: ROBIN WRIGHT PUTS NEDA’S DEATH IN
THE PERSPECTIVE OF SHI’ITE MARTYRDOM
OVER THE CENTURIES

23. SENSE-MAKING: NEGAR MOTTAHEDEH ON THE
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN POLITICAL UPRISINGS

24. SENSE-MAKING: NEDA SOLTANI ON THE MEDIA
MISTAKE THAT DROVE HER FROM HER COUNTRY

25. UNEXPECTED TURN:
YEARS LATER, A CORRECTION

26. ADVANCING THE STORY: DOCUMENTING
• Step One: Publish news on a platform where it will be
shared

27. ADVANCING THE STORY: DOCUMENTING
• Step Two: Track the sharing

28. ADVANCING THE STORY: CORRECTING
• Step One: Notice an error

29. ADVANCING THE STORY, CONTINUED
• Step Two: Report the error

30. ADVANCING THE STORY, CONTINUED
• Step Two: Report the error for a second time

31. ADVANCING THE STORY, CONTINUED
• Step Three: Report the error for a third time

32. OTHER WAYS YOU CAN ADVANCE A STORY
• Provide some context (ideally about something you know
something about)
• Provide verification (or challenge) to an assertion in
dispute
• Share something and track the results

33. ASSIGNMENT FOR THURSDAY SEPT. 29
• Read and perhaps post a comment to posts by Marie &
Simone
• Read Chapter 8 in Foreman (Making Moral Decisions You
Can Defend)
• Note Oct. 4 quiz on material from first seven classes

34. DEONTOLOGICAL VS. TELEOLOGICAL:
THE CASE OF
THE ROOKIE REPORTER AND THE CATHOLIC BISHOP
• Day One: The reporter gets a big story, based on high-
level but unnamed source (a bishop)

35. DEONTOLOGICAL VS. TELEOLOGICAL:
THE CASE OF
THE ROOKIE REPORTER AND THE CATHOLIC BISHOP
• Day Two: The bishop (my source) calls a press conference and proceeds
to…
• Deny the story!
• The ethical dilemma:
• Rely on rules-based ethics and respect my promise not to use his
name. Result:
• Publish his denial & protect him
• Rely on ends-based ethics (given my first loyalty to readers) and inform
the bishop he voided our arrangement by changing his story. Result:
• Publish his denial & reveal him as the original source
• Special circumstances: I had the original interview on tape (which he didn’t
know)

36. DEONTOLOGICAL VS. TELEOLOGICAL:
• What would you do?

37. DEONTOLOGICAL VS. TELEOLOGICAL:
• What I did:
• Other options?