Journalism Ethics Class: The University of San Francisco, Fall 2011

2011-12-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

Chad Heimann

Journalistic Ethics

Newsroom Ethics

To some, ethics in the newsroom is a paradox, while to others ethics are seen as a strict moral code which to some degree determine what personal decisions a reporter will decide while in the newsroom and out on a beat. To determine my own code of ethics I looked to my own personal experience and the always faithful Potter Box to write my own code of ethics that is posted below with explanations.

1. Do not print anything but the truth or nothing at all.

I believe that by only submitting the truth, a report will never have to subject themselves from many of the instances that can come up from publishing a non truthful story.

2. Everything is on the record unless your source says it’s “off the record”, at the point everything said after is considered “off the record.”

By waiting for your source to say something is “off the record”, you as a journalist are able to get as much information as possible until a source feels the need to say something is “off the record.” This gives you the journalist the ability to publish everything spoken up to the point that the source decides to go “off the record.”

3.Never risk not fact checking, just to break a story first.

While it may seem like a good idea to send a story to press early, by not fact checking a journalist runs the risk of misprinting stories that aren’t the truth.

2011-12-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

The Journalism Ethics Code of Stellar Cassidy

When it comes to my own personal code of journalism ethics, I would like to say that I generally would fall back on J.S. Mill’s utilitarianism in most cases, however that is boring and cliché, as most journalists use utilitarianism as their fall back principle. But since this is an essay describing the essence of my own personal code pertaining to what I anticipate will be my greatest challenges as a working journalist, I will proceed to explain what I believe to be most important in my future as a journalist.

As a young writer, I am finding that it is important to market myself if I want to write for a living. This means branding. Whether I am a staff writer for some publication, a blogger, or a freelancer, I want my writing to stick out, and this means I must create my own brand and abide by it at all times in my professional career. I would like to use E. Jean Carroll as a primary example for this discussion, being that several journalists would deem her unethical in her gonzo-immersion style of journalism. I tend to disagree, because this seemingly “unethical” behavior is what got her gigs and eventually made her famous. Everything that she did stayed true to her brand, and her readership and employers appreciated the spice she brought to the industry. My reporting style is somewhat similar to hers. It is a unique, voice-driven, stream of conscious style that has developed through my college career, and I believe that in the times in which we are living, it is important to set yourself apart from the other fish in the sea when it comes to journalism if you want to make it in this industry.

Therefore, when it comes to my own personal code of ethics, the essence I find most crucial is loyalty to my own brand. Although a vague answer, I know that this principle will allow me to make ethical decisions on a case by case basis. For example, if my brand is hypothetically the “Crazy Punk Rock Gonzo Journalist,” then I would conclude that it would be ethical to swear in a piece or perhaps engage in petty crime to get a good story. But of course, I know that my writing would have to back it up. Contrarily, if that was indeed my brand, it would be unethical for me to write a straight and serious piece about something like the dangers of drinking, etc. For other reporters, it may be inversed.

Although I am sure the Potter Box and the seven ethical principles we have studied this semester will introduce itself into my career, this is what I believe to be most important to me. While I do not wish to ignore the aforementioned principles, I think every journalist should also come up with their own unwritten principle that is most important to them. In a time where the word “Journalist” can often be hard to define and provide multiple definitions, I believe it is essential as young journalists to hold our stakes down in what we believe in.

2011-11-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

Highlighting dangers of citizen journalism, Utah mayor uses fake name to report on his city's "good news" | Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas

2011-11-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

Dean Wright on Online Journalism Ethics

In the following video, Journalist Dean Wright gives advice on "Transparency" and how "Citizen Journalists" can gain the trust of their readers. I think this is very useful information. Your thoughts?

2011-11-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

Lila Rose vs. Planned Parenthood

This is what I did my Undercover Ethics paper on. A young anti-abortion activist named Lila Rose has walked into numerous Planned Parenthood's, executing sting operations by carrying a hidden camera and posing to be an impregnated minor involved in sex trafficking. The point of these undercover operations is to expose unethical behavior that is going on at Planned Parenthood. What do you think? Are her efforts ethical?

2011-11-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

A Simple Ethics Problem: A Naked Guy in a College Newspaper

College editor defends running uncensored photos of streaker

Jim Romenesko | Nov. 9, 2011

WNCT.com | The East Carolinian
On Tuesday, the student newspaper at East Carolina University in Greenville, S.C. ran photos of the streaker who ran across the field

2011-11-08T22:32:00.000-08:00

Working Links for Talking about War Reporting

PBS series on war reporting

Famous Cronkite

J.org on embedded

What embeds?

http://www.journalism.org/node/2596

Geraldo yanked

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE5DD1039F932A35757C0A9659C8B63

Sites

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2jnGrl791Bg

Embedded 2007

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june07/frontline_03-23.html

ussr 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_posters_from_the_Soviet_Union

u.s.

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/wwii-posters/

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/knew_the_meaning_of_sacrifice/images_html/talk_of_sacrifice.html

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/man_the_guns/images_html/man_the_guns.html

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/its_a_womans_war_too/images_html/victory_waits.html

Willie & Joe Pulitzer

Willie & Joe on Mail Call

Willie & Joe Pulitzer1

2011-11-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

Here's a Tool to Enliven and Enrich your Term Paper, Adding Currency

How to use Storify as a reporting tool

by Mallary Jean TenorePublished Dec. 28, 2010 6:08 am

Zombie Journalism
Storify has been getting a lot of buzz lately as a new tool that lets you pull in various elements of social media to build a story. On the Storify backend, you can enter a headline or a summary and search for tweets, Flickr photos, YouTube videos and other elements to tell your story and then reorganize the elements and add text to give them more context. You can also let the people in your story know it exists so that they can help it go viral.

In a post on her Zombie Journalism blog, TBD’s Mandy Jenkins outlined 10 ways journalists can use this new tool. Here are some of them:

To curate topical content. NYU Studio 20’s East Village, for instance,used Storify when creating SocialDiningNYC, a site that features curated information about New York City restaurants.

To create a social media/multimedia narrative. Jenkins used Storify to make sense of a story involving a death outside of a D.C. nightclub. The story had a lot of twists and turns, so she used Storify to illustrate the narrative in tweets, photos and documents.

To organize your live tweets into a story. Michael Margolis of GetStoriedrecently did this. Jenkins pointed out that reporters who live tweet government meetings, press conferences and other events could use Storify to display their tweets and then weave in quotes and anecdotes to help fill out the story.

Mark Luckie of 10,000 Words also wrote a good piece on Storify and explainedhow journalists and newsrooms are using the tool.

2011-11-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

AP Talks about the "Objectivity Ethics" of Retweeting (Thank You, Poynter Institute from Whence This Came)

Associated Press
The Associated Press has added a new entry on retweeting to its social media guidelines. Staffers are reminded to keep their opinions to themselves.

Retweets, like tweets, should not be written in a way that looks like you’re expressing a personal opinion on the issues of the day.

Disclaimers — like “retweets do not constitute endorsements” — do not protect AP staffers if they violate these guidelines.

Previously, the guidelines — which were last updated in July — said simply that staffers “are welcome to retweet and share material posted by official AP-branded accounts on social networking sites (e.g. @AP, @APStylebook, etc.” Read the full update below, from Tom Kent, AP’s deputy managing editor for standards and production.

RETWEETING
Retweets, like tweets, should not be written in a way that looks like you’re expressing a personal opinion on the issues of the day. A retweet with no comment of your own can easily be seen as a sign of approval of what you’re relaying. For instance:
RT @jonescampaign smith’s policies would destroy our schools
RT @dailyeuropean at last, a euro plan that works bit.ly/xxxxx.
These kinds of unadorned retweets must be avoided.
However, we can judiciously retweet opinionated material if we make clear we’re simply reporting it, much as we would quote it in a story. Colons and quote marks help make the distinction:
RT Jones campaign now denouncing smith on education: @jonescampaign smith’s policies would destroy our schools
RT big European paper praises euro plan: @dailyeuropean “at last, a euro plan that works” bit.ly/xxxxx.
These cautions apply even if you say on your Twitter profile that retweets do not constitute endorsements.

2011-11-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Photojournalism Ethics

This photo was taken in 1975 in Boston by Stanley J. Forman. It won the Pulitzer prize in 1976. The photo shows a woman and child falling from a building during a fire when the fire escape gave way right at the moment a fireman's ladder reached them. We assume that both the woman and child are about to fall to their death. Turns out, the woman died as soon as she hit the ground and the child survived because she landed on the woman's stomach. What is more chilling about this photo then a photo of the end result? Would you have published this photo? Is it any more or less ethical to publish a photo showing the last moment before death than of death itself?

Epilogue: Forman's work paved the way for Boston and other states to mandate tougher fire safety codes.

-Stellar Cassidy

2011-11-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

The Evil that is Photoshop and Other Horrors of Manipulation, Digital or Otherwise

Famous Photo Frauds

Digital Bikini

He changed the color *of the sky*

Flopping photos

The Commissar Vanishes, or Nothing New Under the Red Sun

Weegee's Night at the Opera

The Migrant Mother

Frank Capra's Soldier

The Flag at Iwo Jima

We Should Never Have Trusted Photography in the First Place

Things We Don't Want to See (But Do We Need to?)

Grieving Widows

Oklahoma City

Dying Soldier

Marine Wedding

California's Paparazzi Crackdown

http://www.openphotographyforums.com/art_MICHAEL_STONES_001.ph

2011-10-29T14:24:00.001-07:00

Let's Use This to Talk about 'Objectivity'

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Weathering Fights - Science: What's It Up To?

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

2011-10-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

Michael Lewis meet John Milton

The name of of the story is California and Bust.

It's by Michael Lewis, Moneyball author (and also Blind Side and many others) and presents (in the best feature style) a California future that is very bleak, indeed, actually terrifying to the point of hopeless. And then he concludes:

When people pile up debts they will find difficult and perhaps even impossible to repay, they are saying several things at once. They are obviously saying that they want more than they can immediately afford. They are saying, less obviously, that their present wants are so important that, to satisfy them, it is worth some future difficulty. But in making that bargain they are implying that, when the future difficulty arrives, they’ll figure it out. They don’t always do that. But you can never rule out the possibility that they will. As idiotic as optimism can
sometimes seem, it has a weird habit of paying off.

And I'm thinking: John Milton would have loved you, man.

2011-10-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

An Old Journalist Friend Dies. I Contribute to the Eulogy

Larry:

Been thinking about this but don't have anything *fine* to contribute. The
thing is with many journalists, you start thinking about them as a brand
that you have come to know, rely on and take for granted. The byline is a
kind of guarantee that the information is solid as is the judgment about
what matters and what doesn't. Choosing the lead, the focus, the frame - you
don't want to spend your "news" time second-guessing the reporter, battling
with the story. Over time you learn who you can trust and who you can't by
which I mean the news story that leaves you unsettled rather than informed.
A matter of trust. So it was with Phil. I "relaxed" into anything he wrote,
if that makes sense. Same thing with writing style. Certain journalists you
know you will enjoy reading the piece for reasons other than content. There
will be pleasure in watching the writer's mind operate when it comes to word
choice, to sentence shape, to metaphor. To be read with confidence, pleasure
and - just that moment before jumping into the old word salad - with
anticipation: oh that's fine. That's an epitaph. Or, to put it another way,
his byline mattered to me as a reader of journalism at those moments when
reading is optional - the headline or to begin the story, just the lead or
the rest of it? (Or perhaps ignore the story altogether and go straight to
the sports!!) I am going to read this right now, all of it, because of the
name at the top. Think how few reporters of whom that can be said. But a
specific story or moment - no. Which is a kind of compliment.

2011-10-28T11:59:00.001-07:00

Different Publications, Different Point of View

2011-10-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

Ethics in Broadcast Journalism: Was it ethical for Fox News Chief Roger Ailes to make this remark about Sarah Palin?

From Slate.com

Fox News Chief Hired Sarah Palin "Because She Was Hot"

Roger Ailes says his network tops its rivals because they "just are better television producers."

By Josh Voorhees | Posted Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, at 3:04 PM ET

(Sarah Palin waves to the crowd before speaking during the Tea Party of America's 'Restoring America' event at the Indianola Balloon Festival Grounds on September 3, 2011.)

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

The Associated Press published a 1,500-word piece Wednesday about Roger Ailes and his still-ongoing career as the head of Fox News, but this 11-word quote from Ailes is sure to be the part that gets everyone talking (or at least clicking): “I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings.”

The AP story, written by national TV columnist Frazier Moore, doesn’t elaborate on the Palin hiring or her career as a Fox News pundit, but it does offer a few other potential pull quotes from Ailes (although none as sexy as his Palin admission).

On why Fox News succeeds: "The consistency of our product. I think we do better television than the other guys, and no matter how we do it, they don't seem to catch up. We seem to out-invent them and think ahead of them, and have better story ideas, better graphics, better on-air talent. We just are better television producers."

On the News Corp. hacking scandal: "I've stayed away from this News Corp. issue because it's not a Fox News issue. I know nothing more about it than I'm reading in the press, and I don't discuss it with Rupert [Murdoch]."

On CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: "Wolf Blitzer is an excellent reporter, but he's not a star."

And on what he’s learned as he gets older: "I don't rise to the occasion when there's no occasion. … When there IS an occasion, I will do what I have to do, and I will win. Is that mellowing? I tend to see it more as picking my battles a little better than I used to. That's probably the best thing I've learned: to save it for when you need it, because when you need it, you have to win."

2011-10-19T18:05:00.000-07:00

Wow.

So a couple of weeks ago, I posted the SPJ's Code of Journalism Ethics to disprove Altschull's outdated assertion that no set of ethical standards exist. I thought the SPJ was thorough, until I came across the code of ethics created by the New York Times for their entire staff here: http://www.nytco.com/press/ethics.html#A2.

It is the most thorough code you will probably find anywhere, ever. It is obviously too exhausting to read, but just skimming it will give you an idea. It is probably also good to have as a source for any ethical questions.

2011-10-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

Lovely links to suit today's lecture

A steam-powered cylinder printing machine

the Franklin printing press

James Gordon Bennett

2011-10-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hot Chicks of OWS: Would You Consider this Ethical Journalism?

Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street from Steven Greenstreet on Vimeo.

2011-10-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

A Journalist's Guide to Verifying News Tips on Twitter

(all of our problems are solved!)

When information appears on social media, it's tempting for news organizations to race to report it first.

Resist that impulse. You'll have a more complete story -- and one you won't later regret -- if you follow a few steps from digital journalists Mandy Jenkins and Craig Silverman.

Jenkins, social news editor for the Huffington Post, and Silverman, editorial director of OpenFile.ca and editor and author of Regret the Error, shared their advice during their presentation, "B.S. Detection for Journalists," at the recent 2011 Online News Association Conference in Boston.

Here are their tips for verifying information found on social media:

Step 1: Check the person's credibility:

-- On Twitter, check when the account was created. Be suspicious of brand-new accounts.

-- How frequent are the updates? Is this a regularly used account?

-- Do they have a photo? If they haven't bothered to add one to the account, that might be a sign that it's a fake.

-- Do they have friends or followers? Do they follow others? Do they have any random followers, - namely watch out for "random, porn spam bots?"

-- Are there interactions between this account and others? No interaction may be the sign of a fake account.

-- Check the account's Klout score to assess the level of interaction.

-- Google the Twitter account's name, or handle, along with "spam," "scam," "spammer" etc. to see if others have complained about this account.

-- See if you can find other accounts online with the info you have. Search the username or use Identify in a Firefox browser, or HoverMe in Chrome.

Step 2: Follow up on the tip

-- Ask for a phone number and call the person.

-- Ask if they witnessed what they reported first-hand, or if not, how they heard about it.

-- Ask what they witnessed, how they saw it and when

-- Ask who else may have the same information

Step 3: Check the credibility of the info

-- Check earlier tweets or updates. Did they mention something about why they were on the scene? Is there anything leading up to their news tip that makes sense or puts things in context? Do they indicate plans, location, etc.?

-- Do any follow up tweets or updates make sense in context?

-- Does it read authentically? Misspellings, bad grammar, typos can also be a sign of a real person.

-- If there is an image attached, check to see if it has geolocation data or exif. Read more about verifying images here.

Step 4: Corroborate the story

-- Check the scanner or police sources to verify

-- Back it up on a Twitter search to see if other social accounts are reporting the same thing

-- Use the "Andy Carvin method:" Ask followers to help verify the information

Step 5: Evaluate your options. Ask yourself:

-- How urgent is this information?

-- How important is the tip to the overall story? Is there a story without it?

-- Is it worth the risk if it is wrong?

-Stellar Cassidy

2011-10-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

Does Twitter Censor?

Claire posted at her blog on the possibility that Twitter censors tweets. She raises two points: Are they doing it and, if they are, is it unethical?

Here's a blog post that suggests it's not a matter of ethics because of the way the standard Twitter algorithm was constructed. I don't know if this info is accurate. And even if it is, you could argue about the assumptions - the ethics - built into the original algorithm.

So what a sweet sweet topic that we will continue to pursue.

2011-10-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

iPhones and Journalism Ethics:

Take a look at the short article below. Is it ethical to report a verbatim text message in a story? Should it be considered private property or public domain? How do you suppose this reporter attained access to the text? Does a text have the same rights as a quote? What is off the record when it comes to text messages?

Margie Phelps speaks in front of the Supreme Court, which ruled this year that Westboro's controversial sidewalk protests are protected as free speech, as is her recent anti-Jobs tweeting. (AP)

It may seem like all of America is sad to hear the news of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ death at age 56, but Westboro Baptist Church can find a reason to hate anyone, and Jobs is no exception.

Margie Phelps, daughter of rogue church’s pastor Fred Phelps, tweeted their plans to picket Job’s funeral FROM HER IPHONE.

She wrote that Jobs went in hell. He served himself and not God, and he taught people to sin, Phelps said.

Phelps defended her use of Jobs’ technology, saying “Rebels mad cuz I used iPhone to tell you Steve Jobs is in hell. God created iPhone for that purpose! ”

The Phelps family makes up the majority of the small, Topeka, Kan. church, which is not affiliated with any Baptist body. Westboro, known for protesting funerals of soldiers and celebrities, is condemned by Christians across the U.S. for their blatant, unapologetic hatred and judgment.

The Washington Post’s On Faith reported on Westboro’s plans to protest Jobs funeral, including tweets from the rest of the Phelps family arguing they use Apple products for the glory of God:

The iPhone-wielding Westboro members seemed unable to find any irony in their embrace of the technology of a man they condemn. One church member even suggested that God was using Jobs to help advance the message of Westboro Baptist Church: “God used Steve Jobs to create amazing STUFF for WBC to preach,” wrote Shirley Phelps-Roper.

2011-09-29T11:48:00.001-07:00

Question: Is it ethical to write a news story on a topic that you previously wrote an opinion piece for?

My answer: Definitely not. This is a conflict of interest. Even if the reader of the news story had no prior knowledge of the opinion piece, the journalist should know that this is a breach of media ethics. If a journalist's main objective is to be objective, then this dilemma convolutes the boundary between objective reporting and subjective opinion. Once your opinion is published and floating around the interweb, people know your stance and that can distort the accuracy of your reporting from the reader's perspective. Now, don't get me wrong, I believe a professional journalist is fully capable of writing an objective news story after having written an opinion piece, but capability is not the issue, it is fairness to your readers so that they have no way to be skeptical of your objective reporting. In an age where readers are skeptical of the news already, it is important and ethical to set these boundaries in the newsroom.

-Stellar Cassidy

2011-09-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

PHOTOJOURNALISM ETHICS

Photo: Richard Drew, AP

This photo was used in an article by USA Today in response to 9/11. Rather than reporting along the narrative of nationalism and heroism, this article focused on the people who jumped--how these people's last autonomous moment was killing themselves. This photo, as tragic as it is, is... honest. Is it ethical to publish these type of photos? Does the shape of a story allow for a certain type of ethically questionable photography? How would you feel publishing this photo? What about this man's family? The link to the full article is here.

2011-09-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

When it's Cruel (Ethically Speaking) to be Kind

Virginia Postrel on Harvard's Kindness Pledge

September 16, 2011

Author and FIRE Board of Directors member Virginia Postrel's latest column for Bloomberg View covers the Harvard "kindness" pledge that all freshmen were pressured into signing this year (the signed pledges were to be posted in every dormitory—a plan that has now been abandoned).

FIRE has covered the problems with this pledge in several articles and blog entries, as has former Dean of Harvard College Harry Lewis, but Postrel points out a new problem with making kindness king:

Meanwhile, to their peers, Harvard students may, if anything, be a little too nice. Some veteran faculty members tell me that the students' drive to succeed manifests itself in a surprising way. A social norm has emerged, they report, in which students avoid saying anything that might make others look bad in class, even if that restraint means stifling discussion.
"I note in the current generation of undergraduates a tendency to hold back on disagreement or criticism of other students in class," says Jeffry Frieden, a political scientist. "They're much more respectful of each other—much more than when I was an undergraduate. If someone states an opinion, even if absurd, they take it in stride."

There are advantages to this kind of politeness and kindness. But at universities, as Postrel points out, there are also drawbacks:

Kindness isn't a public or intellectual virtue, but a personal one. It is a form of love. Kindness seeks, above all, to avoid hurt. Criticism—even objective, impersonal, well- intended, constructive criticism—isn't kind. Criticism hurts people's feelings, and it hurts most when the recipient realizes it's accurate. Treating "kindness" as the way to civil discourse doesn't show students how to argue with accuracy and respect. It teaches them instead to neither give criticism nor tolerate it.

To the extent that kindness involves avoiding unwarranted or unfair criticism of others designed solely to hurt them, it's hard to argue against it as a value. But as Postrel points out, avoiding all criticism in a place dedicated first and foremost to learning can have serious drawbacks. After all, Harvard's one-word motto is Veritas—"truth"—not "kindness." If kindness starts to get in the way of the search for truth and knowledge at Harvard, the university would be wise to reevaluate its priorities.

Permalink | E-mail

2011-09-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics

So Altshull says that there ought to be a committee that decides the standards of journalism ethics. While I am not sure how much traffic this site gets, ethicsadviceforjournalists.org has their own code of ethics that goes as follows:

Preamble

Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility. Members of the Society share a dedication to ethical behavior and adopt this code to declare the Society's principles and standards of practice.

________________________________________

Seek Truth and Report It

Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.

Journalists should:

Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.

Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.

Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.

Always question sources' motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.

Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.

Never distort the content of news photos or video. Image enhancement for technical clarity is always permissible. Label montages and photo illustrations.

Avoid misleading re-enactments or staged news events. If re-enactment is necessary to tell a story, label it.

Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public. Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story

Never plagiarize.

Tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience boldly, even when it is unpopular to do so.

Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing those values on others.

Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status.

Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.

Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid.

Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.

Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.

Recognize a special obligation to ensure that the public's business is conducted in the open and that government records are open to inspection.

________________________________________

Minimize Harm

Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.

Journalists should:

Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.

Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.

Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.

Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone's privacy.

Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.

Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects or victims of sex crimes.

Be judicious about naming criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.

Balance a criminal suspect's fair trial rights with the public's right to be informed.

________________________________________

Act Independently

Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know.

Journalists should:

Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.

Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.

Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity.

Disclose unavoidable conflicts.

Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable.

Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.

Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; avoid bidding for news.

________________________________________

Be Accountable

Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other.

Journalists should: Preamble