Bronner's affair

"Your distinction between an actual conflict of interest and the appearance of a conflict is wrong. The appearance is the actual conflict.

Compare judges. If a judge previously received a free vacation from a litigant, we say she has an actual conflict that undermines public trust in her ruling, not the appearance of one. If the trip does in fact influence the judge’s ruling, it’s no longer a conflict, but a crime.

So with journalists. If the public reasonably believes that a reporter’s independence is compromised by a personal interest, he has an actual conflict. If the reporter in fact changes a story because of his personal interest, it’s no longer a conflict, but a breach of trust.

STEPHEN GILLERS
Manhattan

The writer teaches legal ethics at New York University School of Law."