Drawing the Line

In a day when law suits are all around us and everyone is jumping to sue the next person, it can be a difficult task to decipher when to include information and when to avoid disclosing certain things. Sometimes a person might think that it is important to convey all of the facts, but others will disagree saying that too much information proved to be harmful. On the other hand too little information can be just as bad. In Chapter 3 Bujega discusses truthful disclosures in the media. Bugeja comes to the consensus that people should avoid omitting facts and details that could be pertinent to the understanding of a story or cast a different shadow on the story. Bugeja also stresses the importance of clarifying boundaries with a client or source, to ensure that all parties are on the same page. Although it seems like always doing the right thing should be a relatively easy task, it seems like quite the contrary to me. Everyday that I work on a story, in which I have to interview people, I am constantly on guard about what information I include and which informaiton I leave out. Of course it is important to be honest and not include fabrications in a story, but misrepresenting a source or a piece of information can be just as fatal. Even a person’s greatest intentions can be misguided if the person does not have an understanding of what they are going into with a certain story. I think Bugeja has the right idea when he stresses the importance of checking with a source or client to make sure everything is correct and being portrayed in a way that is as accuarate as possible. When I first started writing news articles I believed that I was doing the right thing as long as I gave every side some time in the spotlight and quoted them accurately. Now I find that reporting truthfully has many more elements than that. Now when I write a story I try to find the soul or the focus of the story and try not to stray from the issues at hand. Giving sources time is important, but it is also vital to recognize when you are being led astray. Keeping a safe distance from personal attachment and picturing the soul of the story before I delve into it has proved to be crucial. If you think something needs to be fact checked or might need more information then it probably does. It is better to be safe than sorry.