In the interest of improving The Badger Herald as a source of quality journalism, the position of ombudsman was established last semester to act as a kind of public editor — an editor whose role is both critic of the publication and advocate for the reader.

In my column last week, I criticized the Herald for not yet having established a comprehensive code of ethics to address, or at least bring guidance to, young journalists who can become entangled in sticky writing and editing situations. This point was highlighted Jan. 27, when Deputy News Editor Mike Gendall wrote a story ("Officials question Beacon's motives") on The Mendota Beacon's printing of an alleged hate crime victim's picture. The initial alleged incident, as well as the Beacon's decision to print the photo and reveal the identity of the individual, has spurned a campus-wide discussion on hate crimes, as well as criticism of the Beacon by University of Wisconsin housing authorities.

For its part, The Badger Herald did not disclose the name of the alleged victim in its initial reporting of the incident Jan. 19 ("Alleged hate crime in Ogg"). Instead, News Editor Meg Costello and Gendall wrote, "When contacted late Wednesday night, the alleged victim declined comment on the December incident, and asked The Badger Herald to protect his anonymity."

Disclosure of the name of an alleged victim is a serious matter. Publication can be damaging to the individual in question or even compromise an investigation. Accordingly, The Associated Collegiate Press Model Code of Ethics for Collegiate Journalists includes a section on victim disclosure:
"Customarily, the names of rape victims are not published; however some news mediums ask rape victims to identify themselves for publication. This may be negotiated between the victim and the publication. Victims of nonsexual crimes may be identified, but the publication has a responsibility to give some protection to the victims such as giving imprecise addresses … "

Clearly, this guideline provides little help for the incident in question. As applied to the Beacon's decision, as well as the Herald's, the clause could be read to either allow or disallow the publication of the alleged victim's name. My goal here isn't so much to criticize either the Beacon or the Herald for their reporting on the issue. It's clear from statements made by the Beacon in Gendall's Jan. 27 article that it did seriously consider whether or not to print the picture, as it is equally clear from Costello and Gendall's first article that their decision was a deliberated one.

It is, however, my goal to point out that there are gray areas in how collegiate journalists disclose information, regardless of how one might feel about this particular case. My first column alluded to incidents at The Washington Post and The New York Times. But the same issues are occurring right here at the University of Wisconsin with its student publications. And just as those seemingly far-off controversies had an impact on the national discussion of surveillance and national security, this controversy has affected the way students address campus climate and hate crimes.

Under the leadership of Mac Verstandig, and with my advice and guidance, the Herald is currently engaged in a semester-long process to create, and later, openly publish an ethical guideline for all of its writers and editors. We have thus far looked at The Associated Collegiate Press publication mentioned above as a starting point. But as I believe the disclosure case indicates, even that code can't make a situation clear in every situation. This is one reason why we intend to examine several other books and publications on media ethics, consult with current and former senior editors at the Herald, and seek out the advice of professors in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication.

The Herald does not intend to create the kind of code of media ethics that will cover every situation. That's simply impossible, and I don't believe anyone is naive enough to believe that one could be created. But a clear code of ethics, openly published for all readers, would go a long way to improving the accountability of student journalists.

Paul Temple ([email protected]) is the former editorial page editor of The Badger Herald. He is a 2004 graduate of the UW and currently lives in Madison.