Let me lurk.
Can I lurk? Absolutely.
The issue of reporters lurking in chatrooms and in certain restricted area on the net in the OJR article got me thinking...Could I use this method? It seemed to work for Jennifer Egan.
In her story, she could not use the "traditional methods" of journalism as ruled by the SPJ Code. She had to resort to the Internet to gather sources. And good for her. She found the information she needed and built upon it for a great story with multi-faceted (ie. children on the Internet) subject lines.
And then there are the people in the chatrooms that feel their privacy has been violated; they should realized that everything on the Internet could be quoted, or published--so--WATCH WHAT YOU WRITE. Maybe disclaimers at the top of each room could be useful (if they aren't already there--I don't do the chatroom-thing).
Journalists, though crossing a code line, are doing what they should to find information: using the most current resource--the Internet--to find and publish a story.
I would love to use this method. Investigative reporters have been using covert methods to create a story for years, regardless what the SPJ Code has said. Remember Watergate?
According to Andrew Skvarca and Jennifer Cilia, it is unethical. Guys take another look--it is what journalism is all about, using the newest medium possible to publish information. The people on the sites know that they can be quoted. The Internet is not a safe place to put "private" information, and yet they do. That is their risk.
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When writing or commenting on the internet, whether or not your in a chatroom or blogging. There is always the danger that someone may take what you say quote you, or dismantle your words and use it how they please. We as young journalists know this and should understand it.
Many people not only journalists, eaves drop on chatrooms and discussion boards. It's the same as going to a website and looking up what people said about a topic or event. All people do it. Whether or not they have good intentions is out of our control.
The only thing you can do is watch what you say and how you say it. If you don't care than don't worry about it. I am apart of the latter group. If a jouranlist feels that what I'm saying is so important they need to quote me, than they obviously have a lack of sources and need to do some serious research or find a new line of work.