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• Lesson Plan
  • "Judgment Calls: The Ethical Responsibilities of Reporters and the Media"
  • Student Handout: Group Quotations
  • Student Handout: Guidelines on Journalistic Standards and Practices
  • Student Handout: Scruples: A Game of Journalists' Dilemmas
• Additional Lesson Ideas
  • Relying on Unnamed Sources
  • Student Press
• Additional Resources
• Printable .pdf of entire guide
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Discussion Questions

1. Define "privacy." To what extent do public officials have a right to privacy?
2. What is the role of the news media in a democratic society?
3. When referring to the allegation that Mayor Jim West was pursuing underage boys online, why do you think editor Steven Smith differentiated between a legitimate news story and one that is not legitimate when he said, "If he's [Mayor Jim West] engaged in this activity ... we need to know that. If he's not -- there's no story" ?
4. How did reporter Bill Morlin justify the use of a concealed identity on Gay.com as part of The Spokesman-Review's and the FBI's "sting operation"? Why didn't Morlin himself create the assumed identity to engage Mayor West online?
5. Under what circumstances, and by whom, is it appropriate to conduct a "sting operation"? (Consider different scenarios such as the media, the government or a private citizen with a suspicion about another private citizen.)
6. Why do you think The Spokesman-Review ultimately published so many articles on Mayor West's alleged improprieties?
7. Is Mayor West a sympathetic character? Why or why not?
8. Explain the title "A Hidden Life" from the perspective of:
The Spokesman-Review
• Mayor West
• the citizens of Spokane, Wash.
9. In the final analysis, who benefited from The Spokesman-Review's decision to expose Mayor West and his alleged improprieties? Who was hurt? Do you think the outcome was worth it? Explain your reasoning.