In the Lynx case, extenuating circumstances made the reporter's actions justifiable, in my opinion. Members of the club changed their statements from day-to-day. At first, they even denied the existence of the Lynx. Reporters presented with deliberately misleading information should be allowed to do what it takes to discover the truth.

And in the Lynx case, the alleged "harassment" stopped entirely once the story had been confirmed--showing that the reporter was not engaged in gratuitous intimidation but instead was trying to do her job.

One final point: if you think that a Crimson reporter is harassing you, bring it to the attention of someone at the paper.

And if a reporter tries to call you on the phone, on a story in which you don't want to comment, the best course of action is to take the call and indicate that you have nothing to say. Further calls can then be interpreted correctly as harassment.

Avoid the call, and you may leave yourself vulnerable to more of the same.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author.