Should I Post This?

Once in a while, whether a journalist is covering a political campaign, local sports or what have you, the individual they are interviewing will say something that cites a grand reaction. In one of the more well-known instances of this, Bill Clinton says some particularly scathing comments on a reporter. Those comments were recorded by another reporter, Mayhill Fowler, and were put to press.

Typically, it is fine for this to go to press, but the issue brought up was that Clinton said these things at a private function and it can be said that Clinton was not aware that he was talking to a journalist, especially one that wrote for such a powerful media outlet like the Huffington Post. It is a matter of journalistic ethics, and Fowler was put into question as to whether she handled the situation using proper ethics and if she should have posted the intense interview.

In my mind, there are some parts to the story that lead me to believe that she did not do everything properly in terms of attaining that information. She was in a scrum with many other people, so it is understandable that she did not state her name and where she was from, but I would not have asked such questions to incite a reaction like the one she got from Clinton. If you are trying to get a specific angle that can incite such hostility, I would let the person know who I was, so they do not do anything that they would regret, just as a matter of courtesy.

I have covered a college hockey game before for USCHO.com where a coach said something critical of the officiating from the game during a post-game interview. Under the rules of the conference for which the team competes, criticism of officials can result in punishment, whether by fine or suspension. I was the only member of the media interviewing this coach, so I was presented with a tough dilemma: Do I go to print with this criticism, or do I write about something else? The coach would know who I was and he would know that I was the only one with that audio, so it would be difficult to speak with this coach again if he got fined or suspended.

I decided to keep the audio to myself and not risk getting a bad reputation with that coach. I know this example does not fall hand-in-hand with the dilemma presented to Fowler, but I think it is fair to say that she will not get any type of inside scoop with Clinton.