This is a big no-no for reporters - Get Paid By the People You Cover!
A pharmaceutical company offered a free-lance reporter $250 just to show up to a press conference/presentation on Botox and two other drugs.
The ethics policy at The N&O says this: "Staffers may not accept gifts or favors from their sources, the people regularly relied on for tips and information. It's clear we cannot be in the debt of anyone we depend on for news. This means not taking gifts of any kind and not accepting favors, such as an offer by a municipal official to void a ticket."
Joe Neff came to The N&O in 1992 and has covered prisons, police, courts and the legislature. His most recent major work was "Agents' Secrets," a four-part series about problems in the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation. He can be reached at