An important lesson life has taught me is to revisit old practices when new situations arise. For professionals who strive for fairness, what is ‘ethical’ is not always as clear as a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Nuance, circumstance, context, and all sides of the story must be taken into consideration before one can decide which term to use in a given story. Examples of such words that conjure up strong controversial images are: ‘Terrorist’ ‘occupation’ ‘incursion’ ‘invasion’ ‘democracy’ ‘coup’ ‘uprising’ ‘Intifada’ ‘insurgent.’ What may sound like an easy qualification is -- and rightly so -- a topic of debate and consensus in a news organization or think tank especially non-affiliated ones. In controversial situations, sometimes it boils down to one word that defines the outlet’s stance.
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