Ethics Assignment Questions

1. I think Steven Smith differentiated between a legitimate news story and one that is not legitimate, because the content of the story would be ruin West’s career and have a huge negative impact on the rest of his life. Smith wanted to be sure that the story was accurate and fair or the paper would risk libel and tarnish its credibility.

2. They needed to go into Gay.com in order to make sure Cobra 82 was truly Mayor West. The paper believed if Mayor West really was looking for underage boys online, then the people of Spokane need to know. Because of ethics, Morlin said he himself could not go undercover on the Web site.

3. Morlin said the abuse of political resources, like the offering of an internship, was the real story. The sexual abuse scandal that occurred in Spokane in the past made the story more newsworthy and relevant to the Spokane community. Also, the paper was very interested in West’s political hypocrisy. Because the mayor was republican and anti-gay, the fact that he was gay was even more newsworthy.

4. The gay community in Spokane was hurt from the scandal. It angered the community that he protected his “closeted-ness” by his anti-gay political views. Gays in Spokane felt West gave them a bad reputation. The general Spokane community benefited, because it was more informed about the hypocrisy of the city’s elected official. Although West did not resign, the national news attention the scandal received hurt West’s reputation and personal life. He was politically exiled and the voters of Spokane eventually recalled West. He described the hypocritical double-life he had been living as a “hell.”

I think the outcome was worth it. While some were hurt in the scandal, it was the paper’s responsibility to report such a newsworthy story. The people of Spokane voted West as mayor under the belief that he was a conservative politician with a history of anti-gay political views. Child abuse is one of the most hated crimes that exists, and the mayor was involved with it. If the mayor participated in these activities, he should have been prepared to face the consequences.

5. I believe that as long as the paper does not accuse Mayor Lynch of anything, there are not ethical problems in reporting the story. The story should simply report the facts and leave the reader to make his or her own decision as to Lynch’s involvement in illegal activities. The key to remaining ethical in this story is maintaining objectivity.