Saturday, December 21, 2013; 10:27:31 PM Eastern
Questions for reporters to ponder
- Is a reporter still a reporter if he or she owns stock in company he or she works for?
- Does it matter how much stock the reporter has?
- When reporting, how does the reporter keep his or her ownership from influencing the journalistic work?
- Should they recuse themselves from writing stories that might increase or reduce the value of their stock?
- When a publisher says dealing with sources is entirely up to the reporters, does that still work if the reporter is a co-owner of the publication?
- Can you wear the hats of reporter and owner at the same time and still think of yourself as a reporter?
- Are the legal protections for owners different from those of a reporter?
- When you get a subpoena, can an owner protect sources?
- Will an owner aggressively pursue the truth? Or profits? What if there's a conflict?