To Toe the Line
Honour and integrity… what else do vampires really have? Being of the undead, soulless beings are we, but what are our moral codes? Do we really have any that we must stand by or is it all just subjective?
The word itself… moral… morality… mortal… mortality….are these synonymous things? Do we carry this small inkling of humanness with us? For it is apparent that this concept is purely humanoid. The basic instincts to survive, be it human or animal, has nothing to do with what we were taught as children, what is right or wrong. Do vampires have some sort of preternatural code? Implied code? Inevitable code of integrity?
Many of us stand by our word, we stand by our fellow vampires and we protect them fiercely. This being said, why… why do we do this? Do we follow some innate instinct? Is it just something from our human days that we are unable to shed?
All I know is this. I had a story. Much of it based on conjecture, some from anonymous sources. Instead of printing what I thought I knew… I waited to find out the facts. Quite frankly, shortly after the posting of the basic bones of the story, I was completely able to follow up with a report that was much more thorough and complete. One of my writers attempted to gain an interview from one of the immediate players and was told, that the situation was personal and they didn’t wish to interview.
Even though I still had the needed facts, I chose not to run with it, based on… integrity. Foolish of me, it is now the HEADLINE editorial on another paper, a rival paper and a paper that has a close link to those the story effects when I do not. This is far from the first time that this has occurred.
What in the end is more important? Did I just leave myself and this paper open to ridicule for being “second” to report on a breaking story? Or did I do the right thing by honouring the wish to wait for the most detailed answers from those who wished a story involving their personal lives to be concise and accurate?
So in editing this paper, must I honour my friendships above the story? Do I honour the relationships of my staff? Do I put in print information about others that I would not reveal about myself or my clan? Where do I toe the line? Or is there no line in news reporting? I leave the question to you…
Comments
Poo
News is news. The only time I keep a secret from the news is when I know it will compromise the story if I tell it before it’s ready to be told. Folks can tell me things off the record and I’ll keep that a secret because otherwise I’d have no friends, lol, but if I hear the same thing from someone else then I’ll write about it anyway. If the city already knows, why pretend I don’t know?
My friends, clan and family know that I’m a reporter and it’s important to me to have the news asap. Of course, I don’t report about my clan’s information, but if that information went public then I would. I think if you knew about the information, and it was a public issue, you should have written about it. It was requested to me also that this be a personal matter, but it wasn’t personal in my opinion. The story concerned two very high-profile vampires doing something pretty darn public. I’m not going to turn the other cheek to a story everyone is talking about anyway and I don’t think that makes me a bad friend, family or clan member. I don’t think it would make you one either.
Besides, this paper was the first to report on the story. They just got a few things wrong such as CoB being the one to attack. CoB is no longer active, but perhaps it was an error and it was meant to be former CoB members. Anyway, don’t hold back if you’ve got the information in my opinion. So long as it’s public news and not trusted information in confidence, how is it wrong?
Jauk Lokason Kreacher’s Snoochie Coo Ladywulfe’s Blood Sister –> Yggdrasil
Seyda
Fair enough, Jauk. My friends, clan, and family know that I am their friend, clan leader, and family first and a reporter second.
The point made by the editor is that she and I receive a good abundance of the information in the city way before it’s public knowledge and in confidence as a privileged friend or family member. At that point, it gets rather difficult to discern when the city knows and as a result, when it would be appropriate to print without violating their trust. The editor was discussing whether or not her loyalty to others was cutting her nose off to spite her face in terms of this paper.
Personally, my clan, family, and friends will always come before getting the story. If that makes us “second,” so be it. I’d rather maintain the ties that bind then to sell anyone out for page hits.
Seyda Assistant Editor Ravenblack Grimoire
Poo
I agree. I guess that makes two of us. I always put my friends, family, and clan first…and when the story final breaks I strike like a tiger! crawls around, hissing and spitting..kinda like that, but maybe more spitting and less hissing. Rar.
Jauk Lokason Kreacher’s Snoochie Coo Ladywulfe’s Blood Sister –> Yggdrasil