When to lie?

Quote :

Silverstein's essay is intended both to defend his use of deception in reporting this story and to condemn those journalists who eschew the possibility of using some form of lying. Silverstein said he expects the targets of his investigation -- the lobbyists who were willing to sell their services -- to challenge his methods. But he was disappointed at the criticism of Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz, "who was apparently far less concerned by the lobbyists' ability to manipulate public and political opinion than by my use of undercover journalism."

Silverstein's L.A. Times essay recounts the history of the use of deception in undercover journalism and the turn away from such methods in the wake of the Food Lion v. ABC News case. Silverstein also takes a shot at the Washington press corps in general for being too timid when it comes to considering the use of deception as a viable reporting tool.

Read the Poynter article
Read Silverstein's essay in the LA Tines
Read the original Harper's article

I can't even pretend there is an easy answer to this one. I had more lectures on ethics as a journalism major in college than I did when I studied either pre-med or criminal justice. The legal and ethical obligations of a journalist are numberous and often difficult.