While many will argue journalism is not a “profession,”  we do – believe it or not –  have a set of rules.

From Day 1 our esteemed, experienced-in-the-field instructors pound a number of things into our developing journalist influenced heads. Number 1, don’t make things up. Number 2, don’t spell a name wrong. Number 3, be careful with numbers (there are, admittedly, few calculus aficionados among us). The list is long and intermingled with some rules that may be made to be broken.  One rule that is not included in the latter however and one that those at The Ryersonian, at least in this term (we work on a six-week cycle) have not ignored is to never show an entire story to a source or interviewee prior to publication.

We realize it may seem like a bit of an oxymoron. Journalists strive for, and report, “the truth.” However, often by showing a source an entire story they will get caught up in jargon, afraid to offend with the smallest word or even want a say on every topic.

As the publisher of The Ryersonian and chair of journalism puts it, “We work for an audience . . . and if you’re always making deals about what not to put in the paper you’re not working for your audience.”

We have one of the best journalism programs in the country. The almost 600 of us are attempting to become “real” journalists. We don’t want to get things wrong. We’ll lose marks and just as likely faith in our ability. But we need the co-operation of all Ryerson professors as we strive to maintain professional standards.

This week that didn’t happen.

A professor recently requested one of our writers break a rule, one the vast majority of national publications stick to like glue.

An almost hour-long conversation with a professor about a recent project took place. The reporter uncovered a wealth of knowledge that would have made for a great story. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.

At the end the interviewee asked for a copy of the entire story prior to publication, to check for factual errors. After all, she said, “real” journalists had misquoted her.

Our reporter politely informed her she could tell her the quotes and paraphrasing obtained from her alone (a practice that is less frowned upon) but could not, and would not break the rule.

The professor suggested the reporter not tell The Ryersonian she had shown the story prior to publication.

The Ryersonian is proud to write about our school. Truly.

There are some great things happening here and we enjoy the small role we play in telling the Ryerson story.

But we can’t do that if professors ask us to ignore professional standards.