WEEK 10- Chapter 10 ‘The story factory’

WEEK 10- Chapter 10 ‘The story factory’

1. A confidential source has tipped you off about what could be the story of the year, but they would prefer you to wait a day to write it. The source admits another media outlet might have it too. You feel you need at least two days on it to do a good job. But it’s been a slow news day, and if you tell the chief-of-staff, you will be expected to write it to the best of you ability today. What do you do?


I would wait as I would prefer to write the story to the best of my ability and more accurate. Also I would not want to offend my source, sources a very important as they are valuable for key information. I would take the risk hoping the other media source has not published it.


2. After a tip from an inside source you work on an article about filth in the kitchen of a major resort, which has allegedly resulted in several, guests and staff becoming ill. In the final stages of preparing your article you seek comment from the resort’s manager, who is hostile and refuses to comment. A short time later you receive a phone call from a leading public relations practitioner who tells you that the resort has been losing money and any bad publicity would force it to close with the loss of 120 jobs. Your source is one of the people who could be out of work. What will you do? Why?

This is a hard decision, one aspect it is not just 5 people losing jobs but 120 people losing their jobs. But it is still important and your duty to report issues that put the publics’ safety at risk. Therefore I would write the article before the situation gets any worse and puts other peoples’ health at risk

3. You are the late sub-editor for a daily newspaper. It is nearly10pm. A man who identifies himself as a solicitor rings and says that a judge issued an order, after the journalist departed, prohibiting publication of a defendant’s name. He sounds drunk. The story, with the defendant’s name, is on the front page, which is about to be sent to the press. There is no time to call anyone without delaying the production process. What do you do?

What can you do! The question really gives you no option as the paper is about to be printed and it is too late to make changes. The fact that a so-called drank ‘solicitor’ told you couldn’t be very reliable.

4. You are a junior journalist and you find yourself caught in the middle of an argument between the editor, who wants you to take one angle on a crime story, and the police rounds reporter who says the editor does not understand the full implications of the story and you should take a totally different angle. What will you do? Why?

I would look at both angles and analysis whose angle I think is the appropriate angle to take. I would also approach a senior editor and ask their opinion. On one aspect I should listen to the editor, as they are in charge however people are sometimes wrong. I would run with the round reporter’s angle, if the penalties I occurred had little affect on me.

Journalism Issue
I always find the debates against PR practitioners quite entertaining (as I am majoring in PR). The book refers to a PR as a ‘spin doctor’, these negative connotations do not bother me the slightest. ‘PR officers, especially those who work for government and big business, are paid large sums of money to hide the truth from the public’. However it is one of the fastest growing industries and in many nations it is outnumbering journalists. Could this mean journalists are a dying breed and more journalist are relying on press releases to formulate stories? Undertaking intro to journalism and PR was beneficial in my opinion as it taught me the views that journalism and pr have on each other. I think journalism and pr go hand in hand, we need each other, why not create more sources. I think Sally White sums the relationship up well a ‘mixed blessing’. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the PR and journalism profession, whether it results in PR being a fad, journalism roles diminishing or the growth of working together.