PressEthic

Is something a conflict of interest if inclusion is relevant to the article? I recently interviewed a marathon runner whose girlfriend happened to be a freelance journalist for the very paper I pitched the story to.

She requested I leave her out of the story to avoid any conflict of interest. However, she is so connected to the runner in terms of helping with his training and being involved in his everyday life that it would be difficult to leave her out. She even applied along with him to run in the marathon, but got rejected. While she is certainly not the focal point of the story, her presence is relevant to the story.

On the one hand, I have the obligation to give an accurate and whole picture of the runner and all the instances leading up to the marathon. On the other hand, she has the obligation to the paper. The dilemma comes down to my interests and ethical obligations as a journalist versus her interests and ethical obligations as a journalist. Who wins out?

To me, this instance does not seem like such a serious case of conflict of interest. First, the story is light-hearted and trivial. Second, it doesn't seem likely that she could bring in any biased opinion by being included. Perhaps people might judge what she says more carefully and not simply take it at face value. I can see how people might think she is trying to make her boyfriend look or sound good, but the nature of the interview did not even afford her the opportunity to praise him in any way.

The situation would be completely turned around if she were the one writing the article about her own boyfriend. This would be a serious ethical violation.

Another question presents itself. Should a journalist ever become a subject of its own profession? Hypothetically speaking, if she did not work for this paper, would it be a conflict of interest for her to be included even just as a journalist? In my opinion, the answer is no. Journalists are interviewed all the time, and it would be very difficult for us as journalists to avoid being subjects of the media.

In terms of the story, I've decided not to use her name, but I am going to mention how his "girlfriend" helped in his training.