An article in today's paper brought considerable controversy to the Daily office yesterday afternoon. When Tufts students find themselves in compromising situations, we often find ourselves with a newsworthy story. As a college newspaper, however, we are acutely aware of the impact that our pages have in a small community. When peers request to be quoted anonymously in articles, we find ourselves having to balance their concerns with the journalistic standards we strive to uphold. Juggling these competing values is never fun, but it is necessary if we are to maintain a reputation as a reliable news source with integrity.
The Daily's ethics policy stipulates that "students [who act as sources] will be named in all possible circumstances." Without this provision, our readers could not be assured of the accuracy of our content. Anonymous sources cannot be independently verified, so we must use them with discretion.
The staff will withhold names of the following sources: a member of an organization speaking out against an employer or official, a name of a victim (of rape or assault), or the name of a student engaged in incriminating behavior (such as illegal drug or alcohol use). The paper's ethics policy, which is available on the Daily's Web site, www.tuftsdaily.com, provides these examples as a guide for our writers and editors.
We approach our jobs as reporters, editors and producers with as much professionalism as possible. The staff in the office double-checks sources and facts to ensure their veracity so that you can trust what you read here. The Daily's reporters are responsible for confirming the terms of an interview before proceeding with a discussion. In other words, an interviewer should confirm whether a talk is off the record or on the record when discussing sensitive information, and he or she should be sure that the source understands and is comfortable with these terms.
It is our hope that you can continue to rely on the Daily throughout the upcoming semester as a source of information and, occasionally, entertainment. We believe that sound journalism plays an integral role in the campus community, serving as both a news source and a forum for discussion.
If the paper can generate as much talk in the halls of Houston and Barnum as it has down in our office under Curtis Hall, then hopefully we have achieved some small measure of success.
