Ethical question

[What Deadline]

Our newspaper has a magazine. You know the type that features all the high society parties, etc. Well, the mag did a cover story on a musician. Two months later, the manager of said musician dropped off tickets for his concert. Many of the staffers who worked on the magazine took the tickets.

My question is this. Is accepting and using the tickets ethical behavior? I say no and that the tickets should have been politely declined. A close friend tells me that I'm wrong and that magazines do this kind of stuff all the time.

What say you?

 

[da man]

Our newspaper has a magazine. You know the type that features all the high society parties, etc. Well, the mag did a cover story on a musician. Two months later, the manager of said musician dropped off tickets for his concert. Many of the staffers who worked on the magazine took the tickets.

My question is this. Is accepting and using the tickets ethical behavior? I say no and that the tickets should have been politely declined. A close friend tells me that I'm wrong and that magazines do this kind of stuff all the time.

What say you?

They probably do.

That does not make it ethical.

 

[Fredrick]

You have to decline the tickets or accept them and give to a charity. I have been offered gifts in my job and immediately refused. Not worth getting fired over. I'd rather leave this business on my terms.

 

[beanpole]

This kind of stuff happens way too often. It's not ethical.

 

[joe_schmoe]

I disagree. I don't find it unethical. If you do the story to obtain the tickets that's unethical. But no one asked for them, people are still allowed to give gifts.

Are you calling it unethical because it might blur your vision of the coverage?

I know of several NFL teams that give the major metros that cover them quite a few season tickets, and at one I know of have seen a few staffers in sports using these tickets. Big whoop. The paper still does it's job covering the team fairly.

I see people all the time call it unethical to accept these gifts, yet no one ever seems to have a good explanation as to why, other than it's what they've been taught.

 

[Football_Bat]

Our newspaper has a sports section. You know the type that features all the high society games, etc. Well, the sports section did a cover story on a athlete. Two months later, the SID of said athlete dropped off credentials for his game. Many of the sports writers who worked on the sports section took the credentials.

What's the diff? Just saying.

 

[beanpole]

I disagree. I don't find it unethical. If you do the story to obtain the tickets that's unethical. But no one asked for them, people are still allowed to give gifts.

Are you calling it unethical because it might blur your vision of the coverage?

I know of several NFL teams that give the major metros that cover them quite a few season tickets, and at one I know of have seen a few staffers in sports using these tickets. Big whoop. The paper still does it's job covering the team fairly.

I see people all the time call it unethical to accept these gifts, yet no one ever seems to have a good explanation as to why, other than it's what they've been taught.

You think the musician would hand out tickets if the magazine did a hatchet job, or was critical? Of course not. He/she did it as a thank you, and that's why it's not appropriate. You don't want to start down that slippery slope of accepting gifts in exchange for positive coverage.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Playing off FB ... Our newspaper has a business section. You know the type that features all the high society companies, etc. Well, the mag did a cover story on a car dealership. Two months later, the manager of said dealership dropped off vouchers for $1,000 off a new car. Many of the staffers who worked on the business section took the vouchers.

(Yeah, they shouldn't have taken those concert tickets.)

 

[Ace]

Playing off FB ... Our newspaper has a business section. You know the type that features all the high society companies, etc. Well, the mag did a cover story on a car dealership. Two months later, the manager of said dealership dropped off vouchers for $1,000 off a new car. Many of the staffers who worked on the business section took the vouchers.

(Yeah, they shouldn't have taken those concert tickets.)

A $1,000 voucher of the price of a car isn't worth much. Hell, they are gonna come down $3,000 or so anyway from the list price so what's to make someone think they are getting anything with that voucher?

Still wouldn't take it, but car dealer guy probably hands them out like peppermints.

 

[What Deadline]

Our newspaper has a sports section. You know the type that features all the high society games, etc. Well, the sports section did a cover story on a athlete. Two months later, the SID of said athlete dropped off credentials for his game. Many of the sports writers who worked on the sports section took the credentials.

What's the diff? Just saying.

First off, thanks for the feedback.

But I don't think your analogy fits. You are comparing apples to oranges. In the above scenario, the newspaper is presumably covering a news event, i.e. a football game. The magazine cover story, however, was a profile piece. I naturally wouldn't have a problem if the magazine had accepted free tickets to write a review of the concert. But the story wasn't a critical review of a show or musical offering. It was a feature about how he was from Main Street, USA.

 

[Mediator]

You don't get tickets to write a review, you get a press pass. If you need to see Performer X in concert again, apply for another press pass. Tickets for you and your wife to go cheer in the front row, well that's a little different isn't it? And that's where the tickets to sporting events compare -- If you go and start clapping for the team you cover or an artist you will profile again in the future, it should make you queasy.

 

[Stitch]

It's called advocacy journalism and some would say it's the highest calling. /crossthread

 

[RickStain]

Gifts are like tips. They make us work harder to do a good job. If we didn't get them, we might not do as good of a job.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Ethics in journalism are as outdated as pica polls, copy carriers and full newsrooms.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Of course it's unethical. That's not in question. The real question is whether you give a damn or not about it being unethical. Some do.

 

[What Deadline]

Of course it's unethical. That's not in question. The real question is whether you give a damn or not about it being unethical. Some do.

I guess that's what I really wanted to gauge. It bothers me. But maybe I'm just being too naive. Even in the current state of our profession, I still believe in what we do. Maybe too much.

 

[Joe Williams]

Playing off FB ... Our newspaper has a business section. You know the type that features all the high society companies, etc. Well, the mag did a cover story on a car dealership. Two months later, the manager of said dealership dropped off vouchers for $1,000 off a new car agreed to continue advertising in the paper when he saw that it wouldn't run critical reviews of his automakers' models. Many of the staffers who worked on the business section took the vouchers at the paper continued to have jobs and get paid.

See, this stuff happens all the time. When it is something that benefits the lowly staffers, it's an ethical no-no. When it's something that benefits the company overall, it's business as usual.

Publishers and editors who get real pious with their newsroom employees often do not think twice about bending standards to suit their own deal-making.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

At one of my stops, free tickets were all over the place. I was always afraid to ask for them, but I got so many handed to me by co-workers that I lost track. My former boss (a very well-respected SE in this business) was king of throwing around tickets to everything from movie premieres to concerts to plays to sporting events.

The way it was explained to me is that because the paper was a corporate sponsor of most of these events and that's why we had the tickets.

 

[Stitch]

Most of the tickets we get are swap deals.

 

[Fredrick]

Publishers and editors who get real pious with their newsroom employees often do not think twice about bending standards to suit their own deal-making.

So true. I sometimes forget about that. I'd say keep the tickets, but some shops might fire you over that. In this economy you might not want to risk that. Taking freebies I'm sure is a fireable offense in some shops.