ABSTRACT
When I worked as a journalist, my nod to ethical practice was to tell participants that I was recording the conversation. Occasionally, I forgot to do even that. So long as I did not misquote them, or broadcast their voices without their consent, I figured I still acted ethically. I had learned that, according to Canadian law, recording a conversation was legal as long as one party agreed to the recording (I always agreed). I never once asked an interviewee for informed consent in the shape of a release form. In fact, when I did my master’s thesis, I interviewed journalists and accordingly asked them to sign an informed consent form approved by my university. Many of them laughed. “Are you serious?” one asked. Most commented they would never meet their deadlines if they had to have every interviewee sign a form. I agreed with them, and acknowledged it was a burden but it was how things were done in academia.
