Laws & Ethics
Looking Forward: Jocelyn Bolte focuses on her future
About:
I first decided to write this story my junior year after a student I went to school with opened up to me about her experiences with balancing school and her home life
while riding the bus. I knew going into this project that I needed to make sure that
Bolte was comfortable sharing her story and that I needed to tell it in the best way possible, especially since it was such a sensitive topic for her.
In the process of writing this article, I of course checked in with Bolte's social worker
to see if certain topics were appropriate to discuss in order to avoid any legal issues that could occur after it was published. Since Bolte had already been through the system and had a permanent placement, her social worker informed me that sharing the difficult parts of her story without going into too much detail would be acceptable to CPS (Child Protective Services).
Prior to releasing the article, I sat down with the student to make sure everything was factually correct and that she was comfortable with what had been mentioned in the final draft. Because of how hard of a topic this was for her to share, I wanted to treat it in the most human way possible so that she felt safe with me sharing her story. After going over the story, Bolte was excited to share her story, no matter how challenging it may be.
Being able to share stories like Bolte's led to me becoming the journalist I am today. Because of this, I am able to write about sensitive topics and know how to go about in both a professional, lawful and ethical way to go about my storytelling.
Coming Out: What it's like to
be in/out of the closet
About:
One of the things I've always enjoyed about my high school was the amount
of diversity within our halls. After hearing multiple experiences of what it was like
to be both in and out of the closet, as well as going off of my own, I decided my
junior year that I wanted to tell multiple stories in one package on what it was like
to be either in or out of the closet.
Because several of the students within the article weren't out to their families, I
believed the best way to go about writing these stories was to ensure that my sources were anonymous. While I had never written a story withholding the identity of a source, I felt challenged in a multitude of ways. However, it helped me grow as a storyteller.
When addressing anonymous sources, one of the first things I learned was the importance of keeping their identity confidential. I wanted to make sure the sources felt comfortable with me telling their story as much as possible, and in order for me to do that, I had to earn their trust before, during and after the story was published.
After every story featuring a sensitive topic, I make sure to follow up with the sources to ensure everything was factually correct and that they were comfortable.