Elements of Journalism
Journalism is a field with standards and a code of conduct. The Society of Professional Journalists has a code of ethics, which includes these four principles:
Seek Truth and Report It
Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
Be Accountable and Transparent
Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public.
Minimize Harm
Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.
Act Independently
The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public.
The Society of Professional Journalists further specifies guidelines, including:
Journalists should:
Take responsibility for the accuracy of their work. Verify information before releasing it. Use original sources whenever possible.
Remember that neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy.
Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing or summarizing a story.
Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information unless traditional, open methods will not yield information vital to the public.
Support the open and civil exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.
Recognize a special obligation to serve as watchdogs over public affairs and government. Seek to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in the open, and that public records are open to all.
Avoid stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting.
Label advocacy and commentary.
Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information. Clearly label illustrations and re-enactments.
If you see a news organization that seems to regularly ignore these guidelines, question it.
Getting Started: What is News Literacy and Why Do You Need It?
How false news can spread - Noah Tavlin
The Fourth Estate
The Fourth Estate and the Constitution by Publication Date: 1992In 1964 the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision in New York Times v. Sullivan guaranteeing constitutional protection for caustic criticism of public officials, thus forging the modern law of freedom of the press. Since then, the Court has decided case after case affecting the rights and restrictions of the press, yet little has ben written about these developments as they pertain to the Fourth Estate. Lucas Powe's essential book now fills this gap. Lucas A. Powe, Jr., a legal scholar specializing in media and the law, goes back to the framing of the First Amendment and chronicles the two main traditions of interpreting freedom of the press to illuminate the issues that today ignite controversy.--From Publisher
Off the record : the press, the government, and the war over anonymous sources by Call Number: KF8959.P7 P43 2007Publication Date: 2007Confidentiality has become a weapon in the White House's war on the press, a war fought with the unwitting complicity of the press itself. Here, Time editor Pearlstine takes us behind the scenes of this battle, showing that the conflict between reporters and their sources is of great consequence for the press, and for the country as a whole.--From publisher description.
When the press fails : political power and the news media from Iraq to Katrina by Call Number: PN4738 .B37 2007Publication Date: 2007“[This] analysis of the weaknesses of Washington journalism deserves close attention.”—Russell Baker, New York Review of Books
The Hierarchy of Accuracy
- Journalists believe ...* Some facts, quotes, assertions and color are more reliable than others.
* The information that comes from an eyewitness is better than that which is second-hand.
* The stuff you know for yourself is better than the stuff someone else supposedly checked out … or did they?
Why Research Matters to Journalists
- News Media AllianceThe News Media Alliance, a nonprofit organization representing nearly 2,000 news and media outlets in the United States and Canada, invited a journalism librarian to weigh in on the importance of research in news gathering.
Expect Accountability
Journalists set high standards for themselves by establishing editorial policies, standards of ethics and by putting their names on their work. Be a critical consumer of news and identify who is behind the story or latest headline. Below are some examples of editorial policies and newsrooms' Code of Ethics.
- ASNE (American Society of News Editors)Explore this extensive list of ethical policies that inform the work of newsrooms throughout the United States.