Disneyland Hotel

Anaheim, California

44th SABEW Annual Conference

2007

1. You’ve been trying to interview a local CEO. You know he’ll talk if you can get past his secretary. A friend offers

you a guest pass to the CEO’s country club. Do you?

19%

6%

75%A. Take the pass and stake out the bar

until he arrives?

B. Refuse the pass because you wouldn’t be approaching him in a business setting?

C. Ask your friend to approach him at the club as your intermediary?

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

2%

23%

75%A. Ignore the ad, and write on any topic,

without concern of appearance of conflict?

B. Protest the bank’s sponsorship to your editor and refuse to write about anything that mentions banking?

C. 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”?

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?

3%

57%

40%A. Leave it in as you identified yourself

clearly as a reporter when you had the interview?

B. Take it out, but tell your editor about the discussion?

C. Take it out and say nothing to your editor?

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?

28%

15%

57% A. Buy shares in the company and go as a shareholder?

B. Seek out a shareholder to give you his/her proxy?

C. Stakeout the meeting and talk with shareholders as the leave and blast the company in the next day’s story for being so petty?

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?

67%

27%

6% A. Refuse to play, and not run the story until it’s officially announced the company is looking to leave?

B. Run the story, after confirming that the company has contacted other cities?

C. Run the story, but mention that other companies have used the “I might go” tactic to get economic development concessions?

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 he’s a

bargain. Do you?

2%

92%

6%A. You run the column, but don’t

specifically mention the name of his firm, so it won’t look like a promotion?

B. You run the column and properly identify his business, as a matter of transparency?

C. You run the column, but only mention he teaches personal finance?

7. You’re 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?

73%

19%

8% A. Take the cars for the weekend, because the public is allowed to test drive cars?

B. Insist you pay rental on the cars, even though this will deplete your budget?

C. Take the cars, but mention in your story that all the dealers provided free weekend use?

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?

18%

80%

2% A. Offer the name because you’re not writing the story, so NO conflict?

B. Offer the name but stress to your fellow reporter that this is your cousin?

C. Don’t offer the name and leave your colleague to flip through the phonebook for names on deadline?

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?

20%

6%

74% A. Say yes, knowing that it’s a worthy trade-off, and the extra day will give you time to really make a great package anyway?

B. Take the information and post a short alert on your website – after all, it’s best to be first?

C. Just run a story that a new business announcement will be made tomorrow – but don’t give the name of the business because that information is not on the record?

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

5%

66%

29% A. Write the story about the company’s trouble without mentioning the tip?

B. Write the story, but note how many people were selling short?

C. Wait until the company’s stock starts going down to write the story?

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?

12%

63%

24%A. Troll the reader comments on your

website and pick the juicy ones to use in your story?

B. Use one or two citizen comments that you have verified as window dressing, but rely on experts?

C. Ignore citizen comments because it’s too hard to double-check as being independent?

12. You write a story about how an executive is fired after uploading a compromising video to YouTube, where it’s 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?

88%

8%

5%A. Start trolling obsessively for more career

faux pas to write about because “winners” are important for your job review?

B. Ignore the comment and go back to doing your job, determined that you will never write another YouTube story?

C. Recognize your editor may be right (this time) and pursue similar good stories as they come up?

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?

4%

39%

56% A. Drop what you’re doing to pursue this story because this CEO never talks?

B. Do other stories that have greater priority first, then get to the tip?

C. Do the story, but look for ways to make it negative to balance out the publisher’s role?

14. You meet one of the ad reps at the gym. She says she can confirm a story you’ve 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?

3%

18%

79% A. Publish the story, telling your editor who was the final anonymous source?

B. Wait to get another confirmation, but on the record?

C. Refuse to use anything from the advertising side, ever?

15. You’re 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?

35%

58%

6%A. Send them back with a note that you don’t

accept gifts of any kind and they should know better than send a gift?

B. Pass them out to the entire newsroom because they are perishable and individually worth less than $5?

C. Give the brownies to a local food bank and send a gracious thank you note to the company telling them so?

16. You write about real estate. You’re surprised to hear a new office commercial complex that will lower property

values will be built in your neighborhood. Do you?

81%

3%

16% A. Call your buddy in the neighborhood association to get a quote?

B. Alert your spouse to put the house on the market?

C. Tell your editor you have a conflict of interest?

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

63%

12%

24% A. Ignore the comment and keep on doing your job?

B. Tell your editor about the rumor, even though you might get pulled from the beat?

C. Ask how much the job pays before deciding what to do?

18. You’re working on a breaking story. You’ve 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?

4%

68%

28% A. Send it, adding the qualifier “It appears that…..”?

B. Refuse to send until it meets your standards?

C. Write the story using the words: According to rumors…?

19. You get a tip that an auto parts plant is coming to town, but you haven’t nailed down the details. The

company your spouse works for would love to bid on the new plant’s construction. Do you tell him?

38%

63% A. No, because it’s not been printed in the newspaper.

B. Yes, because it’s a rumor that others have heard.

20. You’re covering a hot business story. Already you know it has megabuck book potential. You get a great

anecdote, perfect for the book. Do you?

91%

7%

2%A. Hold back a few anecdotes, knowing

you’ll need exclusive content for the book?

B. Use the best anecdotes in daily stories, but save lesser ones for the book?

C. Use everything in daily stories; after all, you don’t want to hold back information?