You were the Editor

The newspaper gets an anonymous letter alleging a world-famous medical researcher at a local university is guilty of scientific fraud. The anonymous writer indicates copies of the letter have been sent to nine others, including the researcher's department head, the heads of fund-granting institutions which channeled substantial sums of public money into the researcher's projects, and to the editor of a professional journal.

Most anonymous letters go into the wastebasket but because this one was literate and typewritten by someone who obviously knew what was going on in the labs, a reporter is assigned to check it out. It is learned the researcher was reprimanded on a purely procedural and technical matter which had nothing to do with the validity of research. Also, the reprimand was being appealed. Do you:

A.  Publish a story about the reprimand to set the record straight.

Readers  38%
Editors  40%

B.  Drop the matter as being information not of legitimate public concern.

Readers  62%
Editors  60%


Readers comments:

"Forget it. The letter was anonymous and had nothing to do with validity of research."

"Don't add to muck-raking. Who hasn't been reprimanded at one time or another."
"No legitimate story. It's one person's personal vendetta."

"The public and medical researcher are owed having the record put straight."

"Paper should publish, whatever the repercussions."

Related Lesson

You Be the Editor