I hate my job!

[Diomedes]

Same difference.  F them.

I'm the type they all wish they were.

[MDS]

so ive got a ethics question for everyone

i get information from 2 sources that Mr. Coach is being moved from school A to school B. this would be massive news for my little side of the world.

i call Mr. Coach, who has been a terrific source for me and always upfront and honest, and he tells me its not true. categorical denial. granted, hes drunk, as he is every night by 800, but a full on denial i havent heard anything its not true.

my sources double down on what they heard, i again call said coach, and he again goes on about how its not true, among other drunken ramblings.

so, with nothing on the record and a denial from the person involved, i let it be. its just a rumor, nothing official, nothing even sourced. nothing i can do for now.

i know one of the tv guys is getting the same type of info as me. i choose not to write about rumors that might or might not be true. he leads off his newscast with it, reiterating that its a rumor, but explaining the rumor and giving the coach's denial.

so what you would guys want to see in this spot...do you want to hear about every single rumor that gets thrown out there, true or not true. or do you want to just wait until something concrete comes out and get that. because said rumor could very well be total bullshtein. or it could be something that its in the works. no one knows. thats the thing.

[Yeti]

Write that Mr. Coach is being moved from school A to school B because he drinks to much and likes to dress up like a chick.

that would be awesome funny Todd, do it.

[PhillyPhreak54]

A tough position to be in - but I think you've got to play the game.

I'd write about it but make it iron-clad that it's not been confirmed. I'd say that two sources close to the situation have passed this information on. Then perhaps you can say that a source within the district or school has denied the reports.

In the twitter/know right away age you have to be out front. It's not like you're throwing shtein against the wall - you have two independent sources telling you this. The drunkard may be sworn to secrecy in order to protect his job.

How solid are your two original sources?

It's all in the game, son.

[MDS]

very much so

but i 100% believe the coach in this that he hasnt been told shtein

also i cant really use anonymous sources, so me saying sources said this sources said that isnt really possible. its more of do you guys want to hear possibly made up things or not. and if a reporter throws enough made up rumors at what point do you start discounting everything he says, even if hes upfront that its a rumor.

[hbionic]

ESPN does that bullshtein all the time.

If journalistic integrity counts for anything...wait for concrete evidence. If the margins have now been blurred and concrete equals two solid sources...then...go with it as long as it does not affect your reputation. This is one of those fields where reputation counts for everything. At least it seems like it.

[PhillyPhreak54]

very much so

but i 100% believe the coach in this that he hasnt been told shtein

also i cant really use anonymous sources, so me saying sources said this sources said that isnt really possible. its more of do you guys want to hear possibly made up things or not. and if a reporter throws enough made up rumors at what point do you start discounting everything he says, even if hes upfront that its a rumor.

Call the AD and have him go on record - even if its a no comment.

If you have a blog - where things are a bit more informal rather than going with a story - perhaps you can say you've been tipped off about a major shake-up and you're working to get someone on the record to confirm or deny.

[Don Ho]

In the twitter/know right away age you have to be out front. It's not like you're throwing shtein against the wall - you have two independent sources telling you this.

How true!  Did the TV guy run with the story?  You said "being moved".  Is this something that he has no say in?  The national sports anchors constantly use the "according to sources" but I realize you are obviously communicating to a smaller, captive audience where sports is a huge part of their world and the impact something like this might have is huge.  If this coach has been a wealth of information and you think writing about it would jeopardize your relationship with him let it break on it's own.  I don't know squat about journalism or the pressure you are under to break stories but I would hold off.

[MDS]

without getting too bogged down in background of the situation here, the rumor is hes a successful coach essentially going from a terrible situation to a much better one. so its something hes told me hed be up for, its just not happening yet and might not even happen.

since everything came down after hours, i couldnt really get anything from school officials. the AD, by the way, is powerless. this school district is especially farged up where principals control their schools, answer to the human resources director and where the school board is full of incompetent loons.

id rather just stick to the facts of what is true. right now the coach has not been told anything so its something that has to be let be.

[Diomedes]

this will likely sound very white to you but...do not report it until you have more than a rumor

doing otherwise would be lousy reportage and would likely hurt your relationship with the coach, who is a good source in his own right.  do some more footwork to see if you can get hard news otherwise sit on it

[ice grillin you]

i get information from 2 sources

my sources double down on what they heard

so, with nothing on the record and a denial from the person involved, i let it be. its just a rumor, nothing official, nothing even sourced. nothing i can do for now.

so do you have sources or not

if you have multiple sources that you deem credible...and not just credible in that they have given you correct info in the past but credible about this particular information...like do they have a connection to the school district or somewhere where this info might eminate from...then there is nothing wrong with reporting it....

your job is not always to 100% verify or not verify something its about the method you used to obtain and vet the information....at some point you have to trust your methodology and go with it

[SD]

^Listen to your big brother. Half of journalism these days is going with your instincts and reporting rumors. Hell PFT turned that into a million dollar website. Whether it's true or not is not what you're reporting, you're just putting the information out there and informing the reader there's a possibility this could happen according to your sources.

[rjs246]

A totally uninteresting journalistic ethics question, one to which the ultimate resolution NO ONE actually cares about, just garnered over a page of responses.

This isn't a WikiLeaks level issue, mind you. This is high school football in south Texas. Die.

[DH]

if coach a is about to be named next dc of the eagles, you have the obligation to break the story here first. farg everyone else.

[ice grillin you]

A totally uninteresting journalistic ethics question, one to which the ultimate resolution NO ONE actually cares about, just garnered over a page of responses.

This isn't a WikiLeaks level issue, mind you. This is high school football in south Texas. Die.

seeing someone who majored in journalism and is aspiring to be some sort of reporter seeking advice on something as basic as this is more fascinating than anything having to do with wikileaks