Journalism at UMD

Conflicts of interest come up all of the time, and some might argue, that as a journalist, you are always being faced with one. So what do journalists to do to avoid getting into these situations?

According to George Daniels, journalism professor at the University of Alabama your first step, if conflicted, should be to recognize the issue.

“Many times people don’t even realize they are being unethical,�? Daniels said.

The next step, is to consult with your editor or supervisor and let them know how you’re feeling. Sometimes editors might not agree and then you find yourself deciding between your ethics and your supervisor’s.

Daniels says journalists have three loyalties: Loyalty to the profession, to the job your in, and to your supervisor.

“You should ask yourself is this story worth it? Is my job more important? Is this a battle I need to be fighting?�? Daniels said.

“Sometimes it better to compromise not your ethics, but how you address the issue. Find a way to be objective,�? he said.

According to the Anti-Corruption Resource Center Web site: “A conflict of interest arises when an individual with a formal responsibility to serve the public participates in an activity that jeopardizes his or her professional judgment, objectivity and independence. Often this activity primarily serves personal interests and can potentially influence the objective exercise of the individual's official duties.�?

News organizations sometimes have a code of ethics, which formally states to employees what is considered ethically and morally OK. What if your own personal ethical code goes against that of the newspaper’s though?

The New York Times, in its company policy in ethics and journalism addresses conflicts of interest in a section titled “On Our Own Time.�? The section goes in-depth into possible issues that journalists might face regarding conflict of interest.

It starts off with a section on participating in public life and politics and moves through family and finance issues.

The New York Times also states that when a reporter is being hired, they must be asked if at the time, they have any conflicts of interest and if they do, they either need to get rid of that conflict or not be hired.

Do these codes stay the same across the board, or do broadcast news reporters go by different ethical standards when it comes to conflict of interest?

Newspaper reporters often find it hard to avoid conflict of interest. ABC Newspapers is a weekly newspaper organization that is compiled of three different papers: The Anoka County Union, Blaine Spring Lake Park Life and the Coon Rapids Herald.

There are four editors at the paper and six reporters. The total circulation for the papers is around 15,000 households.

“It’s hard to live in a community and be a reporter, they are bound to cross paths,�? ABC Editor Mandy Moran Froemming said. “We are a smaller paper but we have a big enough staff, so if a conflict comes up we just swap reporters.�?

Some journalists who work for papers don’t have a choice when it comes to writing about their own family members and friends, but others are able to find ways around it.

ABC sports editor Tom Yelle experienced this type of conflict for years. His son, Kip, was on the varsity hockey and baseball team for one of the high schools that the paper covered. Tom feels it wasn’t a conflict of interest for him.

“I just took the attitude he was another athlete, who was cited for his performance when those times occurred,�? Yelle said.

The only feature story that was written about Kip was when he was on the American Legion baseball team, which Tom coaches. The story featured him and another boy and the hitting streak that they were on.

Tom had his lead sportswriter do the story to avoid any conflicts that might have risen from the story.

Nina Petersen-Perlman, a reporter for the Duluth News Tribune, faces some of these same types of issues.

The Greyhound, Duluth East High School’s newspaper, was in danger of being cut and turned into an extra-curricular, meaning students would only be able to work and write for the paper after school hours.

The adviser sent Petersen-Perlman an e-mail asking for her help. Nina replied, saying she would be happy to help the paper out in anyway that she could. Nina used to write for the paper in high school.

A few days later Petersen-Perlman’s editor assigned her the story. Once she thought it through, she approached her editor.

“I told her I had a pretty big conflict of interest, not only had I written for the paper in the past, I had expressed support for them, clearly showing bias,�? she said. “Now, I like to think that I'm a good enough reporter to put those kinds of biases aside when reporting, but conflicts of interest don't have to be based in reality. They can be perceived.�?

Petersen-Perlman still went through the early stages of writing the story. It happened to be the district’s spring break, and since it wasn’t a story of urgency it was put on the back burner and was forgotten.

“I didn't feel comfortable doing the story,�? she said. “Looking back, I probably should have just gone with my gut from the get-go and refused to do it.�?

Not only are newspapers and their staff being faced with conflicts of interest, but television stations are as well.

Daniels, who worked in television reporting before becoming a professor, feels avoiding conflicts of interest in television is harder than in newspaper journalism because it is visual.

“On TV you are visual, people see your face associated what you’re reporting on, as a news paper journalist it is easy to hide behind the byline,�? he said.

Zach Aho, who worked as a KARE 11 intern witnessed some of these types of ethical issues.

“It’s hard of me to think of one specific example but in general if something came up breaking news, and a reporter thought it was a conflict of interest, it was hard to find someone else to throw in front of the camera,�? Aho said.

Conflicts of interest come up all of the time in journalism and it is up to the journalist to recognize and eliminate the problem.

“Journalists have a loyalty to their readers.�? Daniels said.