Disneyland Hotel

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44th SABEW Annual Conference2007

• Disneyland Hotel
• Anaheim, California

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1. Youve been trying to interview a local CEO.
You know hell talk if you can get past his
secretary. A friend offers you a guest pass to
the CEOs country club. Do you?

• Take the pass and stake out the bar until he
  arrives?
  
• Refuse the pass because you wouldnt be
  approaching him in a business setting?
  
• Ask your friend to approach him at the club as
  your intermediary?

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2. Your personal finance column will now be
sponsored by a local bank. Do you?

• Ignore the ad, and write on any topic, without
  concern of appearance of conflict?
  
• Protest the banks sponsorship to your editor and
  refuse to write about anything that mentions
  banking?
  
• Go out of your way to write about everything that
  is wrong about banking and tack a disclaimer on
  the end of your column concerning your sponsor?

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3. You're finishing a story that will break news
that a large, publicly-held retailer in your area
is not doing as well as projected. You have
the facts including internal documents leaked
to you -- down cold. Just before you turn the
story in, one of your sources calls and asks that
they be taken out of the story because they're
afraid they could be identified. Do you?

• Leave it in as you identified yourself clearly as
  a reporter when you had the interview?
  
• Take it out, but tell your editor about the
  discussion?
  
• Take it out and say nothing to your editor?

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4. The largest publicly-traded company in your
area decides to bar the media from its upcoming
annual shareholders meeting. It has been in the
news recently for back-dating options and other
financial irregularities. Do you?

• Buy shares in the company and go as a
  shareholder?
  
• Seek out a shareholder to give you his/her
  proxy?
  
• Stakeout the meeting and talk with shareholders
  as the leave and blast the company in the next
  days story for being so petty?

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5. A PR guy tips you off the record that his
company, a major employer, may leave town. You
suspect the company might be using media coverage
to bargain for state and local aid to stay. Do
you?

• Refuse to play, and not run the story until its
  officially announced the company is looking to
  leave?
  
• Run the story, after confirming that the company
  has contacted other cities?
  
• Run the story, but mention that other companies
  have used the I might go tactic to get economic
  development concessions?

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6. As a business editor, you use freelance copy
in your weekly personal finance section. A local
financial planner who also teaches at a local
college offers to write a column for 40 a week.
You need the copy, and hes a bargain. Do you?

• You run the column, but dont specifically
  mention the name of his firm, so it wont look
  like a promotion?
  
• You run the column and properly identify his
  business, as a matter of transparency?
  
• You run the column, but only mention he teaches
  personal finance?

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7. Youre doing a story on hybrid cars and
several local dealers say you can test drive cars
over the weekend putting on as many miles as you
want. Do you?

• Take the cars for the weekend, because the public
  is allowed to test drive cars?
  
• Insist you pay rental on the cars, even though
  this will deplete your budget?
  
• Take the cars, but mention in your story that all
  the dealers provided free weekend use?

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8. You get an email from a fellow reporter
asking for the name of a contractor who can
comment on repair work done after the recent
devastating storm. You think about offering the
name of a cousin, who would love the free
publicity for his business. Do you?

• Offer the name because youre not writing the
  story, so NO conflict?
  
• Offer the name but stress to your fellow reporter
  that this is your cousin?
  
• Dont offer the name and leave your colleague to
  flip through the phonebook for names on deadline?

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9. The local economic development agency gives
you, off the record, the name of a new industry
coming to town, but only if you will hold the
story one day, so it coincides with the formal
announcement. Do you?

• Say yes, knowing that its a worthy trade-off,
  and the extra day will give you time to really
  make a great package anyway?
  
• Take the information and post a short alert on
  your website after all, its best to be first?
  
• Just run a story that a new business announcement
  will be made tomorrow but dont give the name
  of the business because that information is not
  on the record?

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10. A broker who often sells short tips you to
problems within a company. The bad news checks
out. Do you?

• Write the story about the companys trouble
  without mentioning the tip?
  
• Write the story, but note how many people were
  selling short?
  
• Wait until the companys stock starts going down
  to write the story?

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11. Your newspaper has started asking readers to
comment about stories online. You know that using
real people in your stories is a big plus. Do you?

• Troll the reader comments on your website and
  pick the juicy ones to use in your story?
  
• Use one or two citizen comments that you have
  verified as window dressing, but rely on
  experts?
  
• Ignore citizen comments because its too hard to
  double-check as being independent?

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12. You write a story about how an executive is
fired after uploading a compromising video to
YouTube, where its seen by millions. You get an
award for writing the most emailed story of the
month. Your editor encourages you to write more
winners like this. Do you?

• Start trolling obsessively for more career faux
  pas to write about because winners are
  important for your job review?
  
• Ignore the comment and go back to doing your job,
  determined that you will never write another
  YouTube story?
  
• Recognize your editor may be right (this time)
  and pursue similar good stories as they come up?

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13. Your publisher golfs with a local CEO. He
sends a story tip down the chain to your editor,
and it makes its way to you. Do you?

• Drop what youre doing to pursue this story
  because this CEO never talks?
  
• Do other stories that have greater priority
  first, then get to the tip?
  
• Do the story, but look for ways to make it
  negative to balance out the publishers role?

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14. You meet one of the ad reps at the gym. She
says she can confirm a story youve been chasing
that a local department store is closing. Other
sources tell you the same thing, but you know you
can trust this source. Do you?

• Publish the story, telling your editor who was
  the final anonymous source?
  
• Wait to get another confirmation, but on the
  record?
  
• Refuse to use anything from the advertising side,
  ever?

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15. Youre the business editor, and you publish a
section front feature on a local business woman
who now has franchised her famous Brownie
Bungalows into a chain. She sends over a basket
of brownies to your staff as thanks. Do you?

• Send them back with a note that you dont accept
  gifts of any kind and they should know better
  than send a gift?
  
• Pass them out to the entire newsroom because they
  are perishable and individually worth less than
  5?
  
• Give the brownies to a local food bank and send a
  gracious thank you note to the company telling
  them so?

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16. You write about real estate. Youre surprised
to hear a new office commercial complex that will
lower property values will be built in your
neighborhood. Do you?

• Call your buddy in the neighborhood association
  to get a quote?
  
• Alert your spouse to put the house on the
  market?
  
• Tell your editor you have a conflict of interest?

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17. For the last four years youve covered
tourism. Theres a high-paying PR job open. A
mutual friend tells you that he hears the job is
yours if you apply. Do you?

• Ignore the comment and keep on doing your job?
• Tell your editor about the rumor, even though you
  might get pulled from the beat?
  
• Ask how much the job pays before deciding what to
  do?

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18. Youre working on a breaking story. Youve
gotten beaten by competitors several times
recently but only by minutes. Today, you have
90 percent of the facts nailed down, but are
waiting for a final confirmation. Your editors
yells, SEND! Do you?

• Send it, adding the qualifier It appears
  that..?
  
• Refuse to send until it meets your standards?
• Write the story using the words According to
  rumors?

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19. You get a tip that an auto parts plant is
coming to town, but you havent nailed down the
details. The company your spouse works for would
love to bid on the new plants construction. Do
you tell him?

• No, because its not been printed in the
  newspaper.
  
• Yes, because its a rumor that others have heard.

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20. Youre covering a hot business story. Already
you know it has megabuck book potential. You get
a great anecdote, perfect for the book. Do you?

• Hold back a few anecdotes, knowing youll need
  exclusive content for the book?
  
• Use the best anecdotes in daily stories, but save
  lesser ones for the book?
  
• Use everything in daily stories after all, you
  dont want to hold back information?