Ethical dilemmas when reporters turn author When reporters write books, questions of loyalty and priority can be expected. Here are some guidelines for resolving some of the difficult issues. While writing a book, New York Times reporter Richard Severo found new information on the government's cover-up of Agent Orange. Although the discovery was made on his own time, he offered the fresh news to the Times. But, because he wanted to protect the book material, he held on to it until the book was finished.
News organizations struggle with what rights they have to control staffers' off-hours work.
Even when staff and management agree on what the policy should be, problems almost always arise. And the problems multiply as the budding authors become more prolific. Arguments over rights to material in reporter Severo's first book, Lisa H, lasted for seven years and resulted in what Severo called an unfair transfer from science reporting to metro. In theory, management wants to like reporters' extracurricular success. But, in practice, many news organizations prefer monogamy.