Ethical And Legal Decision Making Quiz!

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| By Ehrist33

Ehrist33

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Quizzes Created: 1 | Total Attempts: 3,939

Questions: 15 | Attempts: 3,948 | Updated: Mar 22, 2023

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Ethical And Legal Decision Making Quiz! - Quiz

Do you know about ethical and legal decision-making? In news reporting, it is crucial to have strong ethics and good morals. This quiz explains what to do if you know someone is embezzling money if you don’t know all the facts, but you want to proceed, and it could hurt someone else, and if you publish a scandal without enough proof. This quiz calls your fundamental ethics and morals into question. Good luck.

Questions and Answers

1.

A business owner tells you another business owner is embezzling funds. What do you do with the quote you gathered?
- A.
  
  Investigate further and report the quote no matter what; it's a fact that he said it.
- B.
  
  Investigate further and report the quote only if you find further evidence.
Correct Answer
B. Investigate further and report the quote only if you find further evidence.

Explanation
This would defame the business owner's name if the allegation proved false.

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2.

You hear a new church is being built to administer to the LGBTQ community. You get quotes from the pastor/founder of the church, but he doesn’t explicitly say or imply his orientation. What do you do?
- A.
  
  You publish the story ignoring the fact, because it’s not pertinent to the story.
- B.
  
  You call him and ask him, so you can include it in your story.
Correct Answer
B. You call him and ask him, so you can include it in your story.

Explanation
He might be upset if you imply he’s gay, and he’s not.

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2
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3.

A person is complaining, over the phone, about a statement in a story that ran today. You:
- A.
  
  Refer the call to the highest ranking editor. If he/she is not available, politely tell the caller, “We will look into it and get back to you as soon as possible.”
- B.
  
  Say, “We’re so sorry for the mistake. I’ll let my editor know and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
Correct Answer
A. Refer the call to the highest ranking editor. If he/she is not available, politely tell the caller, “We will look into it and get back to you as soon as possible.”

Explanation
Don't admit a mistake before you know you made one.

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4.

A new doughnut shop sends 3 dozen doughnuts to the newsroom as a thank-you for the features profile from yesterday. You:
- A.
  
  Bring them to a homeless shelter; you can't accept gifts.
- B.
  
  Share them with the office to celebrate a job well-done.
Correct Answer
A. Bring them to a homeless shelter; you can't accept gifts.

Explanation
The correct answer is to bring the doughnuts to a homeless shelter because accepting gifts as a newsroom employee can be seen as unethical and can compromise the integrity and impartiality of the news reporting. By donating the doughnuts to a homeless shelter, you are able to show gratitude for the recognition while also serving a greater purpose and helping those in need.

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5.

A judge says to a pedophilia suspect, “You’re disgusting” during a trial. What do you do with this?
- A.
  
  You publish this because it is your qualified privilege.
- B.
  
  You don’t publish this, because it would defame the suspect.
Correct Answer
A. You publish this because it is your qualified privilege.

Explanation
It’s the judge’s absolute privilege to say this and it’s a journalist’s qualified privilege to report it.

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6.

A review of a local band concert says, “The singer must have gargled milk before screeching his attempted melodies.” As an editor, what do you do with this statement?
- A.
  
  You publish it, because it’s purely opinion.
- B.
  
  You rephrase it, because there is false information implied.
Correct Answer
B. You rephrase it, because there is false information implied.

Explanation
Is it known whether or not the singer actually gargled milk?

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2
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7.

Two sources tell you that the mayor is having an affair with each of them. You investigate and the mayor has no comment when you call. What do you do?
- A.
  
  You publish the story; these two sources are enough.
- B.
  
  You don’t publish the story. You need more information to prove it’s true.
Correct Answer
A. You publish the story; these two sources are enough.

Explanation
There is no actual malice or reckless disregard in this case.

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8.

You receive pictures of a new skyscraper on opening day, but the pictures are hard to see because it was foggy outside. What do you do?
- A.
  
  You ask the photographer to “clear them up.”
- B.
  
  You leave the pictures as they are.
Correct Answer
B. You leave the pictures as they are.

Explanation
You may not distort reality, even in pictures. If it was foggy, the pictures should reflect that.

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9.

You receive soccer pictures that are blurry from the players running. What do you do?
- A.
  
  You ask the photographer to make the pictures sharper.
- B.
  
  You leave the pictures as they are.
Correct Answer
A. You ask the photographer to make the pictures sharper.

Explanation
In this case, the camera itself distorted reality. You may always enhance pictures to reflect the runners (who were not actually running blurs) in this case.

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10.

A photographer missed the cutting of a ribbon for a new park. She has the mayor re-enact it and gets the photo. It is the best photo she has. What do you do?
- A.
  
  You publish a different tagline, explaining the re-enactment or a different photo.
- B.
  
  You publish it with the label, “Mayor cuts ribbon at opening of ___ Park.” Nobody will know; it doesn’t negatively impact anyone.
Correct Answer
A. You publish a different tagline, explaining the re-enactment or a different photo.

Explanation
We must not lie, not even about little things. If this was a re-enactment, it MUST say that is was.

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11.

A 14-year-old girl says, “Whatever, he deserves it. He loved his weed more than me and my mom,” when her dad, the local police chief dies in an incident while high on marijuana. What do you do?
- A.
  
  You publish it, because it’s an essential quote. The girl doesn’t seem to be in mourning.
- B.
  
  You’re sensitive to the tragic nature of the situation and the age of the girl. You don’t publish.
Correct Answer
B. You’re sensitive to the tragic nature of the situation and the age of the girl. You don’t publish.

Explanation
In cases of both children and tragedies, we must be especially sensitive. The girl, a minor, might regret the quote later.

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12.

Hy-Vee is one of your biggest advertisers. A reporter writes a story on some employees who are protesting wages tomorrow outside the store. What do you do?
- A.
  
  You run the story; it’s your responsibility to represent those people too.
- B.
  
  You don’t run the story. It’s not relevant and it would hurt your relationship with Hy-Vee.
Correct Answer
A. You run the story; it’s your responsibility to represent those people too.

Explanation
No special preferences for advertisers, thank you.

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13.

You receive a picture of with a woman picking her nose in the background of the most compelling picture of a presidential candidate at a debate. What do you do?
- A.
  
  You don’t run it out of common courteously and the threat of a possible of a lawsuit. Not worth it. You use a different picture.
- B.
  
  You run the story. Who will notice anyway? And plus, it was a public place.
Correct Answer
A. You don’t run it out of common courteously and the threat of a possible of a lawsuit. Not worth it. You use a different picture.

Explanation
There is probably another decent picture you can use, without a woman picking her nose. That ruins the quality of the picture regardless.

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14.

A 16-year-old boy is involved in a case where he is charged with stealing 12 X-Box 360s from Best Buy. You realize the boy is one of your son’s schoolmates and you know his name. What do you do?
- A.
  
  You don’t publish the name. He’s too young.
- B.
  
  You publish the name; his age doesn’t matter in this case.
Correct Answer
A. You don’t publish the name. He’s too young.

Explanation
Don't publish a minor's name, unless he or she is being charged as an adult in a court of law.

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15.

You receive information that a city official is planning to resign from a private source. As you are investigating, you tell your friend, who posts it on her Twitter account.
- A.
  
  You are not liable for this, because it was not formally published.
- B.
  
  You are totally liable for this. Should have kept your big mouth shut.
Correct Answer
B. You are totally liable for this. Should have kept your big mouth shut.

Explanation
The legal definiton of "published" includes anyone who sees it besides the news organization invesitagting it. Oops.

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Current Version
Mar 22, 2023

Quiz Edited by
ProProfs Editorial Team
Oct 05, 2009

Quiz Created by
Ehrist33

Ethical And Legal Decision Making Quiz!

A business owner tells you another business owner is embezzling funds. What do you do with the quote you gathered?

You hear a new church is being built to administer to the LGBTQ community. You get quotes from the pastor/founder of the church, but he doesn’t explicitly say or imply his orientation. What do you do?

A person is complaining, over the phone, about a statement in a story that ran today. You:

A new doughnut shop sends 3 dozen doughnuts to the newsroom as a thank-you for the features profile from yesterday. You:

A judge says to a pedophilia suspect, “You’re disgusting” during a trial. What do you do with this?

A review of a local band concert says, “The singer must have gargled milk before screeching his attempted melodies.” As an editor, what do you do with this statement?

Two sources tell you that the mayor is having an affair with each of them. You investigate and the mayor has no comment when you call. What do you do?

You receive pictures of a new skyscraper on opening day, but the pictures are hard to see because it was foggy outside. What do you do?

You receive soccer pictures that are blurry from the players running. What do you do?

A photographer missed the cutting of a ribbon for a new park. She has the mayor re-enact it and gets the photo. It is the best photo she has. What do you do?

A 14-year-old girl says, “Whatever, he deserves it. He loved his weed more than me and my mom,” when her dad, the local police chief dies in an incident while high on marijuana. What do you do?

Hy-Vee is one of your biggest advertisers. A reporter writes a story on some employees who are protesting wages tomorrow outside the store. What do you do?

You receive a picture of with a woman picking her nose in the background of the most compelling picture of a presidential candidate at a debate. What do you do?

A 16-year-old boy is involved in a case where he is charged with stealing 12 X-Box 360s from Best Buy. You realize the boy is one of your son’s schoolmates and you know his name. What do you do?

You receive information that a city official is planning to resign from a private source. As you are investigating, you tell your friend, who posts it on her Twitter account.