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Children as sources, do you protect them? To what extent?
Hey there! I thought I'd kick off the first discussion with a question I have about using children as sources. Before I became an education reporter in September I was a county and government reporter for four years. In that time I'd learned to stop pulling punches and making sources stand by what they said.
Adults should know that when they talk with a reporter, it's always on the record unless mutually agreed to otherwise. But what about with children? To some extent, the minimize harm section of the SPJ Code of Ethics says to be more careful of non-public sources.
I ask because I recently interviewed a 16-year-old boy for a story I am writing about a volunteer club he's leading at a local high school. Long story short, he had gotten involved in gangs, dropped out of school but came back after a drug deal gone wrong. He looks like a real bad dude, he even has gang tatoos and an ugly scar from a knife fight. He told me his whole story, and then said "I really don't want that to go into the paper." School officials rallied behind him because his alcoholic/drug addicted parents are not in his life. He's been homeless, etc. There's a bit more to it than that, but in the interest of being brief I'll stop there.
I want to be sensitive to this, and my initial thought is to gloss over his past and focus more on the club (which is pretty darn cool). I think there's a great storytelling opportunity that could be explored later. I'm torn, basically.
What would you do? Any advice?
Adults should know that when they talk with a reporter, it's always on the record unless mutually agreed to otherwise. But what about with children? To some extent, the minimize harm section of the SPJ Code of Ethics says to be more careful of non-public sources.
I ask because I recently interviewed a 16-year-old boy for a story I am writing about a volunteer club he's leading at a local high school. Long story short, he had gotten involved in gangs, dropped out of school but came back after a drug deal gone wrong. He looks like a real bad dude, he even has gang tatoos and an ugly scar from a knife fight. He told me his whole story, and then said "I really don't want that to go into the paper." School officials rallied behind him because his alcoholic/drug addicted parents are not in his life. He's been homeless, etc. There's a bit more to it than that, but in the interest of being brief I'll stop there.
I want to be sensitive to this, and my initial thought is to gloss over his past and focus more on the club (which is pretty darn cool). I think there's a great storytelling opportunity that could be explored later. I'm torn, basically.
What would you do? Any advice?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Burk on -
That is a tough one. Technically, everything he said was on the record, but as a 16-year-old, he might not have understood that you can't say something and take it back when talking to a reporter. I think in this case you need to ask whether writing about his past would do more harm than good. Is there a chance he could be retaliated against? Ostracized at school? Could this hurt him in the future if he wanted to get a job? I tend to agree with your initial thoughts to gloss over his past and focus on the club for now. Maybe it can become a story-telling opportunity later if everyone's OK with the situation (maybe when he graduates high school?).
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Permalink Reply by Jessica Schonberg on -
I think you are probably on the right track by minimizing his past. Sixteen is old enough to understand that he is talking to a reporter, but to think that he has the same understanding of on and off the record that a county government official might seems wrong. You certainly can't go wrong focusing on the club.
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Permalink Reply by Lacey Waymire on -
You also can't go wrong if you go back to the source.
When he says, "I don't really want all that in the paper," ask him for specifics. Explain that his journey has been an incredible one and that readers would be interested. Try to get him to narrow down what he does and doesn't want to share. Maybe all he wants to give is a generic quote about how he had been involved in some bad things in the past - or maybe he's okay with more specifics. If you give him the power to chose what goes in to the paper about himself, he'll be more likely to trust you and be a source for you again later.
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Permalink Reply by Phillips on -
I agree with the first two responses and would like to add, this IS a really tough one and it may be good to go back to the source and get him to agree to let SOME of the things he said be published. You were right to be tough with the government officials who are aware that whatever they say to the press is on the record unless stated otherwise but in the future when dealing with teens and others you believe may not be as savvy when dealing with the media explain to them before the interview that if they are going to say something they do not want published just say "off the record."
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