The case study curriculum project adapts the technique used in business schools to help journalism students think for themselves in practical, situational terms. These cases are not strictly about ethics, although that comes into play.
Case studies put students in the hot seat of decision-making in real journalistic moments.
They are designed to get students to think critically about the role of the press in society, verification, treatment of sources, balancing rights of free press and other issues. The cases, listed below, are written by long-time journalists who spent months doing their reporting. This past spring the cases were lab taught by professors in various journalism schools. We are now making the necessary revisions and writing an introduction to case study teaching. Though not yet officially published, several individual cases are ready now for teaching, and a few professors have already scheduled them into their fall 2000 courses.