Journalism 101 for student leaders

To begin the spring semester with a fresh slate, the editor of The Ranger introduced the code of ethics for journalists to Student Government Association members and explained how the reporting process works.

Complaints from SGA members prompted the presentation delivered by journalism sophomore Joshua Fechter at its Jan. 30 meeting in the faculty and staff lounge of Loftin Student Center.

Fechter began by referencing the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to freedom of religion, press and expression from any government intervention.

He then introduced the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics, which can be found at www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp.

"We do operate by a code of ethics; Ranger reporters and all other reporters obey the SPJ code of ethics," Fechter said.

Feedback is highly encouraged through email, telephone or visits to the newsroom in Room 212 of Loftin.

Fechter said corrections are made when a story is verifiably false but not when it is a matter of interpretation. Corrections are usually run online and appear in print if it is a matter of extreme importance.

SGA vice-president Andrea "Bia" Bonilla, asked if names of students or organizations are used, if their publication can be considered harmful to the student.

She asked: Is there a policy that allows the removal of a student's name off a publication? If so, what is the process?

Fechter responded, "It really depends on the actual content. Normally, we do not have a policy to remove content from the website. Once it is published, it is out there. It's like the character Erica Albright said in "The Social Network," the Internet is not written in pencil, it's written in ink. So we will consider that unethical to remove something from an article, if it was something that was discussed in an open meeting, something that was discussed in public, then is fair game to report on."

Tiffany Cox, SGA adviser and criminal justice professor, brought up what she called "the stalker report."

In an Oct. 7 story titled "SGA pursues Loftin security," Jacob Beltran reported that SGA Secretary Lizzie Allen, Treasurer Laura Belalcazar and President Jacob Wong complained of being harassed in the student center by a man named "Frank."

Officers were concerned and upset the article included their names.

The Ranger affirms the information was gathered at a public meeting and interview afterward, making it fair game to report it.

Allen confirmed after the meeting, that she consented to the interview and did not think to ask for anonymity until Friday, four days after the SGA meeting.

Wong said the information was not received in an open meeting. "It was in the hall. He happened to overhear it during an interview."

But Allen said, "It was discussed in an open meeting … names were not asked."

Allen and Belalcazar said they knew Beltran because he had reported on SGA previously.

Therefore, he did not verify their names because he already knew.

Allen and Belalcazar said they discussed the incident involving a stalker on campus with Beltran but never thought he would use their names in the story.

Fechter said that by having Beltran cover previous SGA stories, he would assume they knew how the reporting process works, where interviewees names are always recorded.

Allen contacted Beltran and The Ranger to get their names removed from the article, but the story was already published online.

Fechter explained that in some instances, reporters interview people who prefer to remain anonymous because they feel they will be in danger or harmed by releasing information.

He said if this was the case, it should have been addressed while still talking to the reporter. But it is up to the reporter's judgment to determine if reasons for anonymity are warranted.

Student Government meets at noon the first three Mondays of the month in the faculty and staff lounge of Loftin.