ETHICAL NORMS IN WORK WITH INFORMATION SOURCES

There are several not generally accepted (due to different attitudes of journalists to ethics), but well-founded rules of professionalism. In particular, it does not follow:

Ø to “pretend”, that is, to present yourself as an employee of another profession, suppose you are a plumber, postman, passer, etc. (except using the included observation);

Ø to intimidate the interlocutor (although some instructions to the western reporters allow an easy blackmail of the interviewee: "Sometimes pretend that you know more than you actually ... - writes D. Randall. - But this number burns out only from experienced reporters" [5 ]);

Ø advise, make recommendations;

Ø promise to “sort out” and take action (this is beyond the competence of journalists);

Ø allow actions that can cause moral condemnation of others;

Ø go for rapprochement with neither “positive” nor with “negative” characters;

Ø accept gifts and services, since a relationship of a journalist with a source of information may arise;

Ø to record the conversation on the recorder without the knowledge of the interlocutor (on the contrary, it is necessary to convince him that the recorder will not allow distorting his thoughts and judgments); at the same time, duplication of a dictaphone with notes in a notebook of principally important statements and judgments will not be superfluous, as the technique sometimes fails;

Ø In any case, with the person whom the journalist intends to criticize, another final conversation is needed, where the author presents the conclusions and assessments he came to when collecting information.

We must pay special attention to the interviewees when they say: “This is not for print.”

And finally: do not inherit! After you there will be other journalists here, and according to the impression you left with people, they can simply refuse to talk to them.