they often go out of their way to help him. Many a "scoop" has been the result of the friendly aid of some one who had news to give and who saved it for the reporter in whom he had become personally interested. In other instances, where official news must be given to all alike, the favored reporter may be given a "tip" in advance as to some important phase of this official news which he can use to advantage in his paper, or he may be able to get an advance copy of a report or of a public document so that his paper will have a good story on it ready to print as soon as it is given to the public.
Through his personal relations with men, however, the reporter is sometimes put in a difficult position. In conversation with friends, for example, he may learn of important news that would make a good story and perhaps give him credit for a "scoop." But he must remember that when he obtains news in the confidence of private conversation, he has no right to use it without the consent of those from whom he gets it in this way. At other times he may be given news with the request that it be not published, and again he must beware of violating confidence. No self-respecting reporter will fail to regard the trust placed in him by those with whom he comes in contact either in social or professional relations. Another problem confronts the reporter when friends or acquaintances request him to suppress the whole or a part of a news story that it is his duty to write. Since a reporter is supposed to give all the important facts in a fair and impartial manner, he has no right to omit any of them without the knowledge of his superiors. The best way out of the difficulty, therefore, is to tell those who desire the suppression of any news that the decision in such matters rests with the editor and not with the reporter.
