week 10

Chapter 10.
1) According to Conley and Lamble (2006) "If there is little to recommend, the editor might interrogate the chief-of-staff about slow news days... The effect will be multiplied if the editor learns through other media that the story has been missed" (p. 223). Therefore, in this case I would tell the chief-of-staff even if it meant writing the article in one day for a number of reasons.
Firstly, if they found out that I knew about the story and did not inform them which resulted in them receiving criticisms from the editor they would not be very impressed. Also, if another media outlet covered it first I would not be very well regarded by both the editor and chief-of-staff. I think that my reputation of loyalty to the staff of my publication should outweigh that to the confidential source who only 'preferred' that I wait a day to write it.

2) Hypothetically, if I had received a tip about the filth in the kitchen of a major resort which had caused guests and staff to become ill this would be a major concern for the general public. Even if I received a phone call from a PR practitioner saying that bad publicity would result in the resort closing, I would still report this issue as the public would have the right to know about it.
Chris Mitchell, editor-in-chief of The Australian states that “Public relations officers…are paid large sums of money to hide the truth from the public.” (Sparks cited in Conley and Lamble, 2006, p.213-214). Although this is their job, to me it seems unethical because the public’s health is at risk. How can covering this up be considered as ok?
There is one problem. I would have to consider the fact that the insider source is one of the people that could become out of work. In order to protect this source I would ask them if they would like to remain anonymous. This means that when the story is published they will not be victimised for 'whistle blowing'. I would not tell them about the possible consequences of my story which were outlined by the PR practitioner however, as this may make them take back their statement.
Although it would be unfortunate for innocent employees of the resort to lose their jobs, the resort is posing threat to the publics health and this is the pressing matter. Those responsible for this problem deserve to be out of jobs.

3) According to Conley and Lamble (2006) if it is late, the editor, chief-of-staff and journalists are uncontactable and a sub-editor detects a fault with a news story, the sub-editor has a number of choices. These can include “replacing the story with something else..removing or altering the questionable section of story” (p.225), giving the story to a late-shift journalist to be checked and finally, letting it run as written.
Firstly, in this particular situation I would take into account that the solicitor sounds drunk. Even though alarm bells would be ringing in my head as I detect foul play, is printing the name of the defendant worth the consequences if this phone call turns out to be legitimate? According to Conley and Lamble (2006), consequences can range from abusive phone calls to a complaint to the APC which requires you to publish an apology, or at the very worst a defamation wit.
In this situation, I would chose not the publish the name just to be sure as Conley and Lamble (2006), suggest that as sub-editor, you can “remove or alter the questionable section of the story” (p. 225). This simple step, although it may lessen the effect of my story may save my career.

4) In this situation I would write my story to the angle desired by the editor.
I would do this for a number of reasons, one being that I am only a junior journalist and I am certain that the editor has more knowledge on writing news stories, so I would follow their lead. For all I know, the police rounds reporter may be trying to persuade me from not writing to my desired angle because I am uncovering mistakes the police made within their investigations.
Conley and Lamble (2006) also note that the legal responsibility for what a newspaper prints falls with the editor and that they also deal with public complaints. To sum it up, they are responsible for explaining the actions of the paper. This reinforces my faith in the editor’s wishes, as they would not ask me to do something that may cause them implications.
Also, Baker (as cited in Conley and Lamble, 2006) refers to the editor as the “terminal gate-keeper” of a newspaper who has the “authority to spike, approve, and alter…stories written for the news pages” (pp 136-7). After reading this I question the point in writing a story that is not parallel with the editor’s desires, as I would either be told to alter it, lose the story to another journalist or simply not have it approved for publication. It would be a waste of my time.

Journalism Issue.
Photography within newspapers,(pp 229-232.)
A picture paints a thousand words…
This cliché comes to mind when reading this chapter as Hepting (as cited in Conley and Lamble, 2006) states that one picture is “worth ten thousand words” (p. 229). This clever statement was made by US advertising genius Fred Barnard in 1927 in an advertisement for baking power. (Conley and Lamble, 2006).
I believe this phrase’s validity is amplified by recent world events. Sure, a picture of baking powder might have enticed potential customers in 1927 however, think about the images we were presented with through the press after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre. Or what about the photos of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Boxing Day 2004? No words could have expressed the devastation of loved ones, nor the extent of physical mass destruction that occurred on these days more than the images themselves.
This is reinforced by Conley and Lamble (2006) as they state that “more than a story, a photograph can confirm the importance of a person, place, thing or event.” (p.229).
One point I disagree with under the subheading “Photographers/artists” is that within newspapers, requests for photographs to be included displaying 50th wedding anniversaries are often fulfilled before cheque presentation images. According to Conley and Lamble (2006), this is because they are “dull, depicting two or more people starring at the camera with jaw-locked smiles” (p. 229). This shocks me as where are the news values within this picture? What’s more newsworthy? Mary-Jane and Bobby- Jim’s wedding anniversary or the Cancer Council being presented with a cheque for $100 thousand to fund research that will help save lives? The answer is obvious.
Therefore, although “Photography enchants the public” (Conley and Lamble, 2006, p. 229,) I believe that new values should outweigh how aesthetically pleasing an image is. This brings me back to my bible of the Gilmore Girls (2005-2006), where in the episode “You’ve been gilmored,” Rory states, “ I don’t care how funny a picture is of the professor with pie on his face is, if it’s not newsworthy, I would not publish the photo. Simple. However, if someone had pushed the pie into his face as a political statement, then that is definitely worth publishing.”

References.
Conley, D. & Lamble, S. (2006). The story factory. In Conley, D & Lamble, S. (Eds.), The daily miracle: An introduction to journalism. (3rd ed). (pp. 211-232). Victoria: Oxford.
Nardino, J. (2006). You’ve been gilmored. S. Clancy (Director). In Fass Palmer, P. (Producer), Gilmore Girls. California: Warner Bros Entertainment