Law & Ethics.
During my first semester on staff, I faced my very first ethical decision as a journalist. When writing a profile, I wanted to use a pull quote from the person I was featuring that really captured the whole of the story. However, I had to make some adjustments to the quote given the use of profanity. This decision was one I made after discussing with my adviser and looking to precedent of how to deal with profanity. Ultimately, I feel I was able to make an ethical decision that didn't impact the integrity of the story.
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Additionally, one of the biggest ethical decisions our editorial board has faced has been determining what stories deserve to be published or when anonymous sources are necessary. Specifically, when dealing with the stories of sexual assault and impact of the raised legal age for vaping, our editorial board worked with the process of using anonymous sources. At these times, we refer to our anonymity policy and ensure that we are being ethical in our use of sources.
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As design editor, I also deal with the intricacies of copyright law when advising my staff writers on their layouts or visuals. On several occasions, I talked with my adviser and sometimes found a need to contact the Student Press Law Center in order to clarify questions regarding copyright law.
