Download PDF - International Center for Journalists

Case Studies: Accuracy and Fairness
to the much worse conditions in a
shelter for refugees in a nearby town.
Buzhala said his story was very well
received, being the only account
available from inside the prison walls.
It was not well received, however, by
the prison director, who lodged a
complaint with the Kosovo Chamber
of Lawyers. He said the group was
responsible for “revelation of facts
which should not have been made
public.”
The lawyers’ group “had no choice but
to sue me,” Buzhala said. “My editors
Questions for Discussion
1. Should Buzhala have written the
story given that he never identified
himself as a journalist? Do you
agree or disagree with his
argument that this was the only
way to get the story, and that
providing the story was important
enough to overcome the ethical
problems in the way that he got it?
2. If you were Buzhala, would you
have told the prison director that
you were a journalist? Would your
answer be the same if you knew
the prison director would not have
let you in if he had known you
were a journalist? If you were
Buzhala, would you have told the
guards and inmates that you
interviewed that you were a
journalist? Would your answer be
the same if you knew they
wouldn’t have talked to you as
honestly if they had known you
were a journalist?
3. Would you have published the
statements by the guards that
several dangerous inmates had
escaped? Did the public have a
right to know that? Would you be
concerned that the guards might
lose their jobs if you reported that?
4. What are the consequences of
Buzhala’s decisions for himself?
For other journalists? For the
people he interviewed? For the
public?
5. Is it ever right for a journalist to
conduct an interview without the
subject knowing that he or she is
talking to a journalist? Is there a
difference between not identifying
yourself a journalist (which is what
Buzhala did) and actually
pretending to be someone other
than a journalist in order to get
access or information?
6. Imagine that you are trying to get
an interview with a riot victim in the
hospital. Would you pretend to be
a family member in order to get
into the victim’s room? Would you
pretend to be a hospital worker?
7. What effect do deceptive tactics
have on sources’ willingness to
trust journalists? What effect do
they have on the media’s
credibility with the public?
8.
61