Preston Scagnelli, 17, covertly filmed a Tedra Cobb campaign event in May.

A note: Since this interview was recorded, NCPR has learned that Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has clarified her ties to 17-year-old Preston Scagnelli. Yesterday Stefanik told the Glens Falls Post-Star that Scagnelli is an intern for her campaign, as he claimed on his LinkedIn page. Scagnelli has been working for the campaign since June.

That’s after he attended a Tedra Cobb campaign event under a false name and secretly recorded the Democratic candidate talking about her position on assault weapons.

Stefanik told the newspaper that she didn’t have an issue with Scagnelli’s conduct. Stefanik said he’ll continue working with her campaign in what she described as “a pretty informal” unpaid internship.

Lauren RosenthalConversation with Martha Foley about the decision to reveal the name

This week, when NCPR's Lauren Rosenthal broke the story that a Republican high school student from Rexford in Saratoga County went undercover to record a Democratic campaign event this past May, we decided not to reveal the young man's name.

While we knew the young man's identity with certainty, we felt initially that caution and care were called for in reporting his activities. Our logic was simple: He is 17 years old, a minor. Our ethical guidelines developed in partnership with NPR require us to take an individual's age into account when making editorial decisions of this kind. Put simply, we think minors are different. In the internet age, making their names public in a story like this is a big deal — a decision not made lightly.

That said, today we're reversing our decision. Here's why we're naming Preston Scagnelli now.

In the last 24 hours, we learned that he was paid by the National Republican Congressional Committee in three disbursements for professional political activity that totaled nearly $1,000. His name was revealed openly in federal election disclosure documents.

Scagnelli also wrote public letters to the editor under his own name, appeared voluntarily in a news article that detailed his political associations, and marched in at least one public parade with Rep. Elise Stefanik. On his LinkedIn page — a digital resume which is publicly visible — he self-identifies as an activist and as an intern for Stefanik’s campaign.

On balance, these facts convince us that Scagnelli stepped into the public sphere of his own volition. We feel that naming him is appropriate and doesn't violate our ethical standards concerning the protection of minors.

As always, we welcome discussion of our approach to covering stories. Tell us what you think. Remember to be civil and thoughtful and, where possible, factual.

Lauren Rosenthal, lead reporter

Brian Mann, lead project editor