Eichenwald tiptoes on borderline of ethics

Former New York Times writer Kurt Eichenwald was faced with an unusual dilemma. His decision was later determined to be good and even won an award. Does it make a difference in how your actions should be judged if you're a former writer or a current writer?

This was the daunting question many raised after hearing about Eichenwald's issue. He came across an 18-year-old boy, Justin Berry, who was involved in the online porn business while searching for information about an unrelated topic. Eichenwald and his wife wanted to help this young man get out of this dirty business and turn his life around before it was too late. He ended up writing a two thousand dollar check to Berry. Eichenwald reasons he did so in order to discover the young man's real name and address.

Later on, Eichenwald ended up writing a story with Berry as the prime figure. Before writing the story, however, he asked for the money back. The two thousand dollars was eventually paid in full by the grandmother of Berry.

"I know I did unusual things, and if I should have disclosed what I did as a private citizen in more detail, so be it. But put me through the same situation, I can't say I'd do anything differently," said Eichenwald.

Was this relationship between Eichenwald and this troublesome young man ethical? Eichenwald claims to have acted as he did upon "good Samaritan" terms. Technically, he was not a reporter at the time.

In Mills' terms, consequences of Eichenwald's actions would determine its moral worth. He assessed the consequences and chose the option to help Berry change into a better person. This maximized aggregate happiness. Berry turned his life around and Eichenwald received the Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism for his good actions.