Real-Life Decision Making
A newspaper reporter went to the local flower show to write a story. When she was there, a dozen prize blue roses were stolen. The roses were worth quite a bit of money. The reporter decided to write the story because of its offbeat interest.
This is an excerpt from the story:
The 65-year-old Mrs. Jones-White was a customer at the Blue Rose Booth. She first noticed the missing roses. "I first noticed the empty vase, and a few blue petals lying on the table," she says. "I looked up and saw a man dressed in a red sports coat fleeing out the side door of the exhibition hall.
"He was holding the bouquet and running. I don't know where he went but I'd recognize that coat anywhere. It clashed badly with the roses!" she chuckled.
It was a humorous story. But the next day, you, the ombudsman for the newspaper society, get a call from Mrs. Jones-White. "I was quoted in a story, and I didn't give my permission," she says. "I have had to move to this town to get away from a colleague that harassed me. If he finds out that I am in this town, I will have to move again. The reporter was completely negligent. He should be reprimanded."
You talk to the reporter, and find out that he spoke with Mrs. Jones-White. He did identify himself as a reporter for the newspaper, and took notes as she was speaking. She didn't tell him that he could use the quotes, and he didn't tell her he was planning to identify her in the newspaper.
What do you do?