PressEthic

Many New Yorkers were fear-stricken this past week when a report originating from Iraq warned of a highly specific terrorist threat to the city's subway system. According to the report, those plotting the attack were set to detonate bombs in large bags and, specifically, baby carriages. As a result, Mayor Bloomberg and Police Chief Kelly increased the underground police presence, raised the amount of bag and body searches, and asked commuters to leave the suspected items at home.

The New York Daily News, though, didn't want to just accept the mayor and police chief's promises of increased vigilance; they sought to test the new security system put in place, assigning reporter Elva Ramirez the task of pushing a baby stroller (with shopping bags and a purse in tow) through six separate subway trains in three hours. The result, from the October 8 story:

Six trains plus one stroller minus a baby added up to zero searches yesterday on the subway.

According to some, The Daily News' experiment and resulting story is unethical. The Society of Professional Journalist's Code of Ethics clearly states, "Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public. Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story." But isn't this a case where journalists must be able to bend the rules in order to protect society? After all, no one was truly harmed by the publication of the story, and many of the city's residents are potentially made safer by it, especially if the resulting publicity makes the city's police force more aware and accountable of their negligence.

Ethics, like life, is filled with "shades of gray." Much like the use of anonymous sources, "going undercover" should only be used sparingly and should be avoided if at all possible. But there are times when both techniques are invaluable to the service of a story that ultimately improves society. This piece is a great example of when society's greater good supersedes borderline unethical behavior.