Question

Read the scenario. A pilot is being investigated after an air-traffic accident led to many passengers being injured and hospitalized. Reports about a cover-up by the airline are surfacing, and people have accused the pilot of negligence. The editor-in-chief of the local newspaper has just assigned the story to the most experienced investigative reporter in the newsroom. However, the reporter’s uncle is the pilot being investigated. No one in the newsroom knows about this connection. What is the most ethical course of action the reporter could take? investigate the claims without revealing that the pilot is her uncle; the fact that he is a relative will not affect her reporting tell the editor-in-chief about her relationship to the pilot, and ask that the story be assigned to another reporter convince the editor-in-chief not to run the story, because the reporter knows that her uncle is a skilled pilot and believes that the allegations are false research and write the article, but have a colleague edit it before it is submitted to make sure there are no signs of bias

Answer 1

As you've mentioned 'ethical course of action' the reporter can justify his professionalism as well as his relationship with the pilot just by doing a fair and unbiased research. If he believes his uncle is skilled enough to never make a mistake, he can break a story from another angle that points out the real failure and this way he would be giving an 'exclusive' story to his editor. Later he can reveal about his relationship with the pilot, if his reports are factually correct no one will question his integrity or unbiasedness.