Pseudo-ethics

There's been a lot of unwarranted self-righteousness among newspaper editors around the country in the wake of a Spokane Spokesman-Review investigation into allegations the mayor traded public benefits for sex with young men.

As part of its news gathering, the newspaper hired a private eye to dip into a gay online chatroom and seek confirmation of the mayor's screen name. To do this, the investigator posed as an 18-year-old and, well, chatted the mayor up.

Far too many editors around the country clucked at this technique, saying the Spokesman-Review was wrong to use subtrefuge to confirm information it already had. They claim strict adherence to the rule that reporters must always identify themselves.

Apparently these editors rose through the ranks without ever telling a lie or misleading someone to get a story. If they did, they undoubtedly gained all their experience writing for the Religion & Ethics pages.

"Hi chief, this is Bob Jones at the Times. I was just talking to the mayor about possible cutbacks in the police department. Can you confirm that at least 20 officers will be laid off?" Bob did talk to the mayor about possible cutbacks. But they mayor told Bob to buzz off.

Tom is at the bar of a restaurant popular with legislators. The senate majority leader - tanked - is standing next to him running his mouth to a lobbyist about his plan to kill the governor's tax reform plan. The next day Tom calls the senator, who denies any such plan exists. "But isn't that the information you gave (lobbyist's name here) last night?"

Reporter Ann never dates the powerful committee chairman but, then, she never really tells him she won't. Her pal Susan knows more about the Department of Water and Power than most of the people working there. But when she calls the supervising engineer seeking details on a controversial project, she acts like an airhead to wheedle the information out of him.

All of those reporters identified themselves, but all of them lied to the people they were talking to in one way or another. Such techniques are used every day by journalists - even at the papers run by people who talk a far better ethics game than they can play.

The Spokesman-Review didn't set out to probe the mayor's personal life. It wanted to test the credibility of sources who said the mayor misused his office in exchange for sex. By hiring someone more experienced in online investigations than its own reporters the newspaper demonstrated its commitment to fairness and accuracy. That's what really counts.