Full Disclosure

To what end should journalists avoid conflicts of interest? This would really depend on the type of story. A hard news story should be written sans conflicts of interest whenever possible. In which case, I would submit the idea to the story budget, maybe listing myself as a possible source, or simply tip off a fellow journalist.
If the piece were to be done as a soft news story, with an element of human interest, then it might be okay to do the story. In researching human interest pieces, sometimes a journalist becomes involved with the story. Although this involvement isn’t explicitly expressed in the story, it is reflected by the compassion and perspective from which the story is written. Whether or not a connection should be disclosed should be left up to the journalist. I personally don’t feel that disclosure is necessary (in soft news stories) unless it is relevant to the story. In many human interest pieces there is some kind of bias, at least implied; however, after the recent case of Lonelygirl15, I might have to reconsider.
For those that don’t know, Lonelygirl15 is the screen name of a girl featured in a series of short video clips of a likeable teen frolicking about her room doing silly things and sharing her thoughts with the world. The series, which was posted on YouTube.com, became episodic, and many of her followers became suspicious of the girl’s true identity and the purpose of the videos. Many believed a Hollywood conspiracy to be behind it all, perhaps building hype for an upcoming film. Shortly after the theories began, it was revealed that Lonelygirl15 was in fact a 19 year old actress working for an experimental film company that bound her to confidentiality. The series retains a fan base, but many have lost interest.
In following this whole fiasco I realized that audiences generally resent feeling like they have been duped, and disclosing your identity, even if it is not pertinent to your story, may prevent future animosity. And with that, we come full circle.