Tom LoBianco, Maryland politics reporter

Check out this interesting post from union activist and MoCo blogger Adam Pagnucco. Looks like the WashPost is attempting to tap into a pre-existing online community in Maryland, this just a few weeks/months before the Allbritton, Jim Brady online venture starts up.

From Pagnucco:

Five weeks ago, I received an unsolicited offer from the Washington Post. They asked if they could post my picture and biography on their website and link to every new blog post appearing here if I agreed to produce regular original content for them at their request. I turned them down. Why?

Because they wanted me to work for them for nothing.

The Examiner chain already does this, of course, but they pay their bloggers something (not much as I understand it, but it’s still moolah.)

Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink.

So this is the April Fool’s Day joker who dressed up as a regal Mike Miller (Maryland’s Senate President) and paraded through Annapolis a few weeks ago. He stood in front of the Mike Miller Senate Office Building (that’s Miller SOB, for short) in the plot where the widely-rumored Mike Miller statue is expected to be placed. That’s not confirmed, of course, just another piece of Annapolis lore.

… And a little housecleaning and a few thoughts here, just because that white space that was hanging here before looked terrible. Hmmm, layout options. …

Thought #1: I really need a copy editor. I picked through that last post about Steele, Ehrlich, O’Malley and Dixon four or five times to clean up all the little spelling and grammatical errors, and I know there are more in there I have yet to spot.

Thought #2: Anybody want to comment on whether it’s easy to get in touch with me if you have questions or comments? My e-mail is up at the top right of the page, under that goofy mug shot, but some good folks have told me they have trouble finding it. So, open thread: Whaddya think? Should my e-mail addy be blown up in 24-pt type?

(An excellent guest post from the inimitable Andy Schotz! – TL)

Recently, Tom LoBianco, the keeper of this blog, asked for my thoughts about when it’s OK for a journo with a possible conflict to step away and when a disclosure would be enough to proceed.

There’s no set answer to Tom’s question, but it’s a great topic to explore.

It came up because of Tom’s recent riff on former Gov. Ehrlich’s new run for his old office – http://tomlobianco.com/2010/04/05/easterish-blogger-roundup

In his post, Tom had three separate disclosures about his connections to the subject matter.

I was especially interested that after Tom mentioned The Sun, he disclosed that he had applied for a job there. I can’t recall ever seeing that disclosure before — usually, someone mentions a current or past work connection.

Disclosure shows that a journalist or news organizations is serious about keeping readers informed of possible connections that might color coverage or opinion writing. The bias doesn’t have to be actual. Our readers’ perception is important, too, and we journos can’t control it.

Here are some connections I think are usually worth disclosing: a past, present or future work relationship; a relationship by blood, marriage or friendship; a financial interest; any other personal link to the issue, such as membership in a group or organization.

That’s still pretty broad, I know.

Look at the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics (http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp). It’s a set of guidelines — no laws or rules; no “enforcement” or “sanctions” — to help journalists ask the right questions before making decisions.

One of the code’s four sections is titled “Act Independently.” Two principles in this section say journalists should “Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived” and “Disclose unavoidable conflicts.”

(Disclosure: I’m plugging the code because I’m SPJ’s Ethics Committee chairman.)

I was once asked if a Catholic journalist could fairly cover the Catholic Church. Again, there’s no single answer, but the question makes you think about the extremes to which avoiding a conflict could be taken.

I’ve written many stories about Allegheny Power, the local energy supplier. Yet, I’m a customer (I don’t have much choice).

I live in Washington County and have written a ton of stories about the county government.

Taken to the philosophical extreme, I might have a conflict writing about men or native New Yorkers. I’m probably biased toward mammals.

The exercise gets silly well before that, so let’s go in the other direction.

Maybe it’s OK for me to write about the new Toyota recall (my Corolla isn’t affected). But I probably shouldn’t write a feature about the dealership that sold me my car.

If I’m Catholic, maybe I could cover the Church — but not my church.

Tom probably won’t write a glowing feature about what a hard-working journalist Doug Tallman is (even if it is true). But if Doug runs for governor, Tom probably will cover the campaign and point out their past affiliation (which he did in his April 5 blog post).

I wouldn’t write a profile of my friends or co-workers, unless there’s no other practical way around it. In that case, I disclose.

It’s usually better to disclose too much than not enough. A supervisor should be in on the discussion. If you work for yourself, bounce it off a friend.

One simple rule of thumb is: What do readers need to know? Put yourself in their place, and go from there.