The BBC wanted to report on the situation of Paul and Rachel Chandler, a British couple who spent more than a year kidnapped in Somalia. It was a major story but legal steps taken by the Chandler family prevented the media from saying anything until the Chandlers were released.

The BBC program Over to You discussed why the Beeb -- and other news outlets in Britain -- were not able to report the story: The Chandlers: Censorship in a good cause?

The couple’s family had gone to court in the UK and asked a judge to grant them what’s called a ‘super-injunction ‘ - a legal measure that’s caused controversy as it has often been used by celebrities to stop newspapers publishing stories about their private lives.

Jack Shafer at Slate pointed out cases of plagiarism by The Beast invesigative reporters Gerals Posner.

In the aftermath of Posner's firing by The Beast, Shafer talks about plagiarism and journalism ethics.
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Interesting report on ABCNews.com yesterday.

Networks Blur Policy of Not Paying for Interviews

Our own chapter president, Andy Schotz, is quoted in his role as SPJ Ethics chair.
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When Congress reconvenes next month, the SPJ will continue its fight to enact a national shield law that will allow journalists to protect our sources.

That is all well and good in the United States. Sources need to be protected under law if we are to dig deeply into the who, what, when, where and how.

But what about sources overseas?
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The man who keeps The Washington Post on its toes — an outsider from within — spoke to SPJ's D.C. Pro chapter at McClatchy's Washington bureau on May 4.

Andy Alexander still was relatively new to the ombudsman job, but offered plenty of insight.

In one of his weekly columns, he revealed that the Post's policy for responding to requests for correction was so faulty, some requests languished for years without anyone from the newspaper addressing them.

The column made waves and brought about changes even before it was published.

Alexander, who worked for many years for Cox Newspapers in its Washington bureau, said another issue he's trying to tackle is making the Post more transparent. He wants the newspaper to post its ethics policy online, as other major news organizations do. Read more »