Journalistic Ethics and Investigative Reporting

XAT 2025 · DM · Hard · Decision Making

All XAT 2025 questionsMore Decision Making questionsAll CAT DM

Passage / data set

The Pluralist is a newspaper renowned for high journalistic standards, led by owner Zubin Mistry and editor Ramya Kattabomman. Senior journalist Aditya Swaroop Verma presents an exposé on illegal mining activities relying on anonymous sources. The report is time-sensitive.

Question 1 of 3

Which of the following reasons will BEST enable Ramya to publish the article?

  1. A.

    Ramya should publish the article because her legal team is mostly over cautious about any possibility of backlashes.

  2. B.

    Ramya should publish the article given the time-sensitive nature of the report.

  3. C.

    Ramya should publish the article because any investigation by Aditya Swaroop has enhanced the reputation of The Pluralist till date.

  4. D.

    Ramya should publish the article because a similar article was published on another mining company last week in another news daily.

  5. E.

    Ramya should publish the article because the same news can get published by a competitor known for breaking such news.

Question 2 of 3

After publication, the mining company contests the findings. Aditya reveals his key sources were fired employees who lied. What is the MOST responsible action Zubin should take?

  1. A.

    Retract the entire article, and publish Ramya's apology in the newspaper.

  2. B.

    Retract the entire article, and publish that Aditya Swaroop will no longer be with the newspaper.

  3. C.

    Publish a follow-up article disclosing the identity of the sources used for the article, attributing the responsibility of the errors to them.

  4. D.

    Publish an article accusing the mining company of bullying witnesses to change their versions.

  5. E.

    Publish a modified version of the article next day, defending the investigative journalism of Aditya Swaroop.

Question 3 of 3

Aditya's reputation is damaged and he wants to revisit the mining story, but Zubin believes further pursuit is futile. Which action by Zubin will BEST enable Aditya to enhance his diminishing reputation?

  1. A.

    Assign Aditya Swaroop to work as an anonymous journalist for the next few months, until he feels confident of himself.

  2. B.

    Ask Aditya Swaroop to start his own YouTube channel, since more people are aware of him now than before.

  3. C.

    Tell Aditya Swaroop that he plans to delegate the mining company project to a fresh team, who will work in consultation with Aditya Swaroop.

  4. D.

    Ask Aditya Swaroop to focus on mentoring new and young journalists instead of working on any investigative report for some time.

  5. E.

    Assign a new investigative project to Aditya Swaroop, advising him to focus on the new project without worrying about the past project.

Practise this under exam conditions

Sign in to solve it with a live timer, the on-screen CAT calculator, and streak and accuracy tracking across every question you attempt.

Solve in the workspace