Why You Should Avoid Checkbook Journalism

Why You Should Avoid Checkbook Journalism Checkbook journalism is when reporters or news organizations pay sources for information, and for a variety of reasons most news outlets frown on such practices or ban them outright. The Society of Professional Journalists, a group that promotes ethical standards in journalism, says checkbook journalism is wrong and shouldnt be used- ever. Andy Schotz, chairman of the SPJs ethics committee, says paying a source for information or an interview immediately puts the credibility of the information they provide in doubt. Exchanging money when youre looking for information from a source changes the nature of the relationship between the reporter and the source, Schotz says. It calls into question whether theyre talking to you because its the right thing to do or because theyre getting money. Schotz says reporters thinking about paying sources for information should ask themselves: Will a paid source tell you the truth, or tell you what you want to hear? Paying sources creates other problems. By paying a source you now have a business relationship with someone youre trying to cover objectively, Schotz says. Youve created a conflict of interest in the process. Schotz says most news organizations have policies against checkbook journalism. But lately there seems to be a trend to try to make a distinction between paying for an interview and paying for something else. This seems to be especially true for TV news divisions, a number of which have paid for exclusive interviews or photographs (see below). Full Disclosure is Important Schotz says if a news outlet does pay a source, they should disclose that to their readers or viewers. If theres a conflict of interest, then what should come next is explaining it in detail, letting viewers know you had a separate relationship other than just that of a journalist and a source, Schotz says. Schotz admits that news organizations not wanting to be scooped on a story might resort to checkbook journalism, but he adds: Competition doesnt give you license to cross ethical boundaries. Schotz advice for aspiring journalists? Dont pay for interviews. Dont give sources gifts of any kind. Dont try to exchange something of value in return for getting a sources comments or information or access to them. Journalists and sources shouldnt have any other relationship other than the one involved in gathering news. Here are some examples of checkbook journalism, according to the SPJ: ABC News paid $200,000 to Casey Anthony, the Florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, for exclusive rights to videos and pictures that ran on the network and its website. Earlier ABC had paid for Caylee Anthonys grandparents to stay three nights at a hotel as part of the networks plan to interview them.CBS News reportedly agreed to pay Caylee Anthonys grandparents $20,000 as a licensing fee to participate in the networks news coverage.ABC paid for Pennsylvania resident Anthony Rakoczy to pick up his daughter in Florida after a fake kidnapping attempt and for return plane tickets for Rakoczy and his daughter. ABC covered the trip and disclosed the free air travel.NBC News provided a chartered jet for New Jersey resident David Goldman and his son to fly home from Brazil after a custody battle. NBC got an exclusive interview with Goldman and video footage during that private jet ride.CNN paid $10,000 for the rights to an image taken by Jasper Schuringa, the Dutc h citizen who overpowered an alleged Christmas Day bomber on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. CNN also got an exclusive interview with Schuringa.

5 Differences Between Italian and English Capitalization

5 Differences Between Italian and English Capitalization While there aren’t a ton of differences between Italian and English when it comes to areas like punctuation or writing style, there are a handful you should know about in the realm of capitalization. Many words that are capitalized in English are not capitalized in Italian, and while knowing this won’t increase your spoken conversational ability, it will make your written communication, like emails and text messages, feel more natural. Differences in Capitalization Between Italian and English Italian and English capitalization differs in these areas: Days of the weekMonths of the yearProper adjectivesTitles of books, movies, plays, etc.Personal titles such as Mr., Mrs., and Miss. Days of the Week Here are some examples with the days of the week.   Arriva domenica. - He is arriving on Sunday.Ci vediamo lunedà ¬! - We’ll see each other on Monday! / See you Monday!Sei libero giovedà ¬? Ti va di prendere un aperitivo? - Are you free on Thursday? Do you want to get an aperitivo with me?A mercoledà ¬! - To Wednesday! (This is a common way to tell someone that you’ll be seeing them for the plans you made. In this case, the plans are on Wednesday.) Months of the year Il mio compleanno à ¨ il diciotto aprile. - My birthday is April 18.Vado in Italia a gennaio. Sicuramente si geler! - I’m going to Italy in January. It’s going to be really cold!A marzo, ho appena finito un corso intensivo di italiano. - I just finished an intensive Italian course in March. TIP: Notice how the preposition â€Å"a† goes before the month. Proper adjectives Proper adjectives are the descriptive form of the noun. For example, she’s from Canada (proper noun), which makes her Canadian (proper adjective). Lei à ¨ russa. - She’s Russian.Penso che siano canadesi. - I think they’re Canadian.Riesco a capire dal suo accento che lui à ¨ italiano. - I can tell from his accent that he’s Italian. Titles of Books, Movies, Plays, Etc. If you’re writing about a recent book or movie that you just read, you won’t capitalize the beginning of each letter in the title (excluding articles and conjunctions). Abbiamo appena visto â€Å"La ragazza del fuoco† L’hai visto anche tu? - We just saw Catching Fire. Did you also see it?Hai letto â€Å"L’amica geniale† di Elena Ferrante? Ti à ¨ piaciuto? - You read My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante? DId you like it? Personal titles such as Mr., Mrs., and Miss. Il signor Neri à ¨ italiano. - Mr. Neri is Italian.Il mio nuovo capo si chiama signora Mazzocca. - My new boss’s name is Mrs. Mazzocca. TIP: You can use both forms with personal titles. In a formal context, like an email or a reference letter, you’ll want to capitalize all of the titles, like Prof. Arch. Dott. or Avv. minuscole a b c d e f g h i l m n o p q r s t u v z maiuscole A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q R S T U V Z