Tuesday, September 18, 2007

ASNE Situation Three

Situation Three

You are a community newspaper crime reporter. A 10-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and killed last week, her body dumped in a nature preserve. Police have provided almost no information on the case, other than the victim’s name, age and the location of the body. Neither they nor the coroner will release even the cause of death. A source you know and who has provided credible information in the past leaks to you a list of three suspects’ names. You trust the accuracy of the list because of the source’s position. All three suspects have profiles on the social networking site Facebook, and all are open to the public. Do you use Facebook to gather information on them?

Join Poynter ethicist Bob Steele in discussing the Poynter tips and how they were applied by commenting below.