Are you considering "testing" such systems as airport security or your community's water supply? What safeguards should you consider?
Make sure you do considerable front-end thinking on the journalism and the ethics of such reporting. Ask tough questions of yourself and your colleagues before you begin and at every step along the way.
• What is our journalistic purpose for the story?
• Why are we doing this story? Why now?
• How will it legitimately serve the public?
• What are the ethical concerns?
• Harm to vulnerable individuals?
• Fairness to those we will test?
• Accuracy of the story based on our knowledge about the issue and those we are testing?
• Impact on the credibility of our news organization?
• What about the possibility of harm?
• Are we putting people at physical risk in the process of our test? Can we justify that?
• Do we risk emotional harm to innocent people? Is it justified?
• Are we compromising other citizens in our community if we test public safety agencies, potentially drawing them away from other duties?
• Might our stories reveal information to terrorists that they don't already know?
• How can we commit the necessary resources to any "test" we conduct to make sure it is fair and reliable?
• How can we make sure we have our most skilled journalists involved in this "test" to ensure success?
• Do we run the risk that our "reporting tactics" will become the story rather than the public safety issue we are exploring?
• If we are considering any forms of undercover reporting and deception, can we fully justify those actions? This would include the use of disguised identities, hidden cameras, misrepresentation of our purpose, etc.
Consider these guidelines.
• Who can provide advice and guidance on this reporting? Are there experts on terrorism, public safety, and journalism ethics we should include in our deliberations to make sure we stay professional and ethical?
• Are we willing to tell our viewers, readers, or listeners the full account of how we did our reporting and why we did it?
