Journalism ethics and standards, include principles of ethics and of good practice to address the specific challenges faced by professional journalists. Historically and currently these principles are most widely known to journalists as their professional "code of ethics" or the "canons of journalism." The basic codes and canons commonly appear in statements drafted by both professional journalism associations and individual print, broadcast, and online news organizations. Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the science (study) of morality. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is good or right. ... A journalist is a person engaged in the profession of journalism. ... In communications, a code is a rule for converting a piece of information (for example, a letter, word, or phrase) into another form or representation, not necessarily of the same sort. ... Print media includes newspapers, magazines, and the like. ... Note: broadcasting is also the old term for hand sowing. ... Online journalism is reporting and other journalism produced or distributed via the Internet. ...

While various existing codes have some differences, most share common elements including the principles of — truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public accountability — as these apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent reportage to the public. This article is primarily concerned with truth as it is used in the evaluation of propositions, sentences, and similar items. ... In science, engineering, industry and statistics, accuracy is the degree of conformity of a measured or calculated quantity to its actual, nominal, or some other reference, value. ... Objectivity is frequently held to be essential to proper journalism (particularly in the United States); however, there is some disagreement about what the concept consists of. ... Justice is a concept involving the fair and moral treatment of all persons, especially in law. ...

Like many broader ethical systems, journalism ethics include the principle of "limitation of harm." This often involves the withholding of certain details from reports such as the names of minor childen, crime victims' names or information not materially related to particular news reports release of which might, for example, harm someone's reputation.

To a large degree, the codes and canons evolved via observation of and response to past ethical lapses by journalists and publishers. Today, it is common for terms of employment to mandate adherence to such codes equally applicable to both staff and freelance journalists; journalists may face dismissal for ethical failures. Upholding professional standards also enhances the reputation of and trust in a news organization, which boosts the size of the audience it serves. 1. ... A freelancer or (freelance worker) is a self-employed person working in a profession or trade in which full-time employment by a single employer is also common. ...

Journalistic codes of ethics are designed as guides though numerous difficulties, such as conflicts of interest, in general, assisting journalists in dealing with any number of ethical dilemmas. The codes and canons provide journalists a framework for self-monitoring and self-correction as they pursue professional assignments. A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust, such as a lawyer, a politician, or an executive or director of a corporation, has competing professional and/or personal interests. ... An ethical dilemma is a situation that often involves an apparent conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. ...

The principles of good journalism are directed toward bringing the highest quality of news reporting to the public, thus fulfilling the mission of timely distribution of information in service of the public interest. Public interest is a term used to denote political movements and organizations that are in the public interest—supporting general public and civic causes, in opposition of private and corporate ones (particularistic goals). ...

Codes of practice

While the United States and European countries have led in formulation and adoption of these standards, such codes can be found in news reporting organizations in most countries with freedom of the press. The written codes and practical standards vary somewhat from country to country and organization to organization, but there is a substantial overlap among mainstream publications and societies. World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Freedom of the press (or press freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public speech often through a state constitution for its citizens, and associations of individuals extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ...

One of the leading voices in the U.S. on the subject of Journalistic Standards and Ethics is the Society of Professional Journalists.[1] (http://www.spj.org/) The Preamble to its Code of Ethics states: The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the science (study) of morality. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is good or right. ...

...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.

The Radio-Television News Directors Association, an organiation exclusively centered on electronic journalism, maintains a code of ethics centering on -- public trust, truthfullness, fairness, integrity, independence and accountability.[2] (http://www.rtnda.org/about/rtnda.shtml) RTDNA publishes a pocket guide (http://www.rtnda.org/ethics/CodeofEthics.pdf) (PDF file) to these standards. PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ...

Examples of journalistic codes of ethics held by international news gathering organizations may be be found as follows:

• British Broadcasting Company: Producer guides (http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/producer_guides/).
• The Canadian Broadcasting Company: Journalistic Standards and Practices (http://cbc.radio-canada.ca/accountability/journalistic/index.shtml)
• Al Jazeera: Code of Ethics (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/07256105-B2FC-439A-B255-D830BB238EA1.htm).
• Code of Journalists of the Republic of Slovenia (http://www.uta.fi/ethicnet/slovenia.html)

... CBC redirects here, as this is the most common use of the abbreviation. ... Al Jazeera logo Al Jazeera (الجزيرة), meaning The Island or The (Arabian) Peninsula (whence also Algiers) is an Arabic television channel based in Qatar. ...

Common elements

The primary themes common to most codes of journalistic standards and ethics are the following.

Objectivity

• Unequivocal separation between news and opinion. In-house editorials and opinion (Op-Ed) pieces are clearly separated from news pieces. News reporters and editorial staff are distinct.
• Unequivocal separation between advertisements and news. All advertisements must be clearly identifiable as such.
• Reporter must avoid conflicts of interest — incentives to report a story with a given slant. This includes not taking bribes and not reporting on stories which affect the reporter's personal, economic, or political interests.
• Competing points of view are balanced and fairly characterized.
• Persons who are the subject of adverse news stories are allowed a reasonable opportunity to respond to the adverse information before the story is published or broadcast.
• Interference with reporting by any entity, including censorship, must be disclosed.

Objectivity is frequently held to be essential to proper journalism (particularly in the United States); however, there is some disagreement about what the concept consists of. ... An editorial is a statement or article by a news organization (generally a newspaper) that expresses an opinion rather than attempting to simply report news. ... An Op-Ed is a piece of writing expressing an opinion or editorial. ... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ... Censorship is the systematic use of group power to broadly control freedom of speech and expression, largely in regard to secretive matters. ...

Sources

• Confidentiality of anonymous sources (see news source).
• Avoidance of anonymous sources when possible.
• Accurate attribution of statements made by individuals or other news media.
• Pictures, sound, and quotations must not be presented in a misleading context (or lack thereof). Simulations, reenactments, alterations, and artistic imaginings must be clearly labelled as such, if not avoided entirely.
• Plagiarism is strongly stigmatized and in many cases illegal (see copyright).

Source is a term used in journalism to refer to any individual from whom information about a story has been received. ... In journalism attribution is the identification of the source of reported information. ... Plagiarism refers to the use of anothers ideas, information, language, or writing, when done without proper acknowledgment of the original source. ... A copyright is a form of intellectual property which secures to its holder the exclusive right to produce copies of his or her works of original expression, such as a literary work, movie, musical work or sound recording, painting, photograph, computer program, or industrial design, for a defined, yet extendable...

Accuracy and standards for factual reporting

• Reporters are expected to be as accurate as possible given the time alloted to story preparation and the space available, and to seek reliable sources.
• Events with a single eyewitness are reported with attribution. Events with two or more independent eyewitnesses may be reported as fact. Controversial facts are reported with attribution.
• Independent fact-checking by another employee of the publisher is desirable
• Corrections are published when errors are discovered
• Defendants at trial are treated only as having "allegedly" committed crimes, until conviction, when their crimes are generally reported as fact (unless, that is, there is serious controversy about wrongful conviction).
• Opinion surveys and statistical information deserve special treatment to communicate in precise terms any conclusions, to contextualize the results, and to specify accuracy, including estimated error and methodological criticism or flaws.

A miscarriage of justice is primarily the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime that they did not commit. ...

Slander and libel considerations

• Reporting the truth is never libel, which makes accuracy and attribution very important.
• Private persons have privacy rights which must be balanced against the public interest in reporting information about them. Public figures have fewer privacy rights.
• Publishers vigorously defend libel lawsuits filed against their reporters

In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ...

Harm limitation principle

During the normal course of an assignment a reporter might go about — gathering facts and details, conducting interviews, doing research, background checks, taking photos, video taping, recording sound. Should he or she report everthing learned? If so, how should this be done? The principle of limitation of harms means that some weight needs to be given to the negative consequences of full disclosure, creating a practical and ethical dilemma. The Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics [3] (http://www.spj.org/ethics_code.asp) offers the following advice, which is representative of the practical ideals of most professional journalists. Quoting directly: Fact is the following: Generally a fact is something that exists or has existed, of evidence. ... interview An interview is a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked to obtain information about the interviewee. ... Research is an active, diligent and systematic process of inquiry in order to discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviours, or theories, or to make practical applications with the help of such facts, laws or theories. ... Background check - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... A photograph (often just called a photo) is an image (or a representation of that on e. ... Video is the technology of processing electronic signals representing moving pictures. ... A schematic representation of auditory signaling Sound is an alternation in pressure, particle displacement, or particle velocity propagated in an elastic material (Olson 1957) or series of mechanical compressions and rarefactions or longitudinal waves that successively propagate through medium that are at least a little compressible (solid, liquid or gas... An ethical dilemma is a situation that often involves an apparent conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. ...

• 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.

Presentation

Main articles: News writing, Journalism, Inverted pyramid News style is the prose style of short, front-page newspaper stories and the news bulletins that air on radio and television. ... Journalism is a discipline of collecting, verifying, reporting and analyzing information gathered regarding current events, including trends, issues and people. ... The inverted pyramid is a graphical metaphor that is most often used to illustrate how information should be arranged or presented within a text, in particular within a news story. ...

Ethical standards should not be confused with common standards of quality of presentation, including:

• Correctly spoken or written language (often in a widely spoken and formal dialect, such as Standard English)
• Clarity
• Brevity (or depth, depending on the niche of the publisher)

Standard English is a general term for a form of written and spoken English that is considered the model for educated people. ...

Self-regulation

In addition to codes of ethics, many news organizations maintain an in-house Ombudsman whose role is, in part, to keep news organizations honest and accountable to the public. The ombudsman is intended to mediate in conflicts stemming from internal and or external pressures, and to maintain accountability to the public for news reported. Also, to foster self-criticism and to encourage adherence to both codified and uncodified ethics and standards. Wiktionary has a definition of: Ombudsman An ombudsman is an official, usually but not always appointed by the government, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. ...

The alternative is an industry-wide self-regulation body, such as the Press Complaints Commission, set up by UK newspapers. Such a body is capable perhaps of applying fairly consistent standards, and of dealing with a higher volume of complaints, but may not escape criticisms of being toothless. The Press Complaints Commission is a British organisation that has regulated printed newspapers and magazines since 1990. ...

Ethics and standards in practice

See main articles: journalism scandals, media bias, and yellow journalism Journalistic fraud includes practices such as plagiarism, fabrication of quotes, facts, or other report details, staging or altering the event being putatively recorded, or anything else that may call the integrity and truthfulness of a piece of journalism into question. ... Media bias is a real or perceived tendency of journalists and news producers within the mass media to approach both the presentation of particular stories, and the selection of which stories to cover, with an unbalanced perspective. ... Yellow journalism is a term given to any widespread tendencies or practices within media organizations which are detrimental to, or substandard from the point of view of, journalistic integrity. ...

As with other ethical codes, there is perennial concern that the standards of journalism are being eroded. One of the most controversial issues in modern reporting is media bias, especially on political issues, but also with regard to cultural and other issues. Sensationalism is also a common complaint. Minor factual errors are also extremely common, as almost anyone who is familiar with the subject of a particular report will quickly realize. Media bias is a real or perceived tendency of journalists and news producers within the mass media to approach both the presentation of particular stories, and the selection of which stories to cover, with an unbalanced perspective. ... Sensationalism is a manner of being extremely controversial, loud, attention-grabbing, or otherwise sensationalistic. ...

There are also some wider concerns, as the media continue to change, for example that the brevity of news reports and use of soundbites has reduced fidelity to the truth, and may contribute to a lack of needed context for public understanding. From outside the profession, the rise of news management contributes to the real possibility that news media may be deliberately manipulated. Selective reporting (spiking, double standards) are very commonly alleged against newspapers, and by their nature are forms of bias not easy to establish, or guard against. In film and broadcasting, a soundbite is a very short piece of footage taken from a longer speech or an interview in which someone with authority says something which is considered by those who edit the speech or interview to be a most important point. ... News management is the process by which individuals and organizations (especially political parties) control information and their interactions with the news media to achieve some strategic objective. ... The news media is a term used to describe print media (newspapers, magazines); broadcast media (radio stations, television stations, television networks), and often Internet-based media (World Wide Web pages, weblogs). ... Note: spiking a drink means adding alcohol or another drug to it, with or without the drinkers consent, to create intoxication. ... A double standard is an ethical rule applied more stringently to one party than to others. ...

This section does not address specifics of such matters, but issues of practical compliance, as well as differences between professional journalists on principles.

Standards and reputation

Among the leading news organizations who voluntarily adopt and attempt to uphold the common standards of journalism ethics described herein, adherence and general quality varies considerably. The professionalism, reliability and public accountability of a news organization are three of its most valuable assets. An organization earns and maintains a strong reputation, in part, though a consistent implementation of ethical standards, which influence its position with both with the public and within the industry.

Among the most respected western publications, programs, and broadcast networks are:

• Washington Post
• New York Times
• British Broadcasting Company, BBC
• Canadian Broadcasting Company, CBC
• The Cable News Network
• National Public Radio in the United States
• PBS, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Frontline for news and in-depth reporting

... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... ... CNN or Cable News Network is a cable television network that was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner & Reese Schonfeld [1][2](although he currently is not recognized in CNNs official history). ... CBC redirects here, as this is the most common use of the abbreviation. ... NPR logo For other meanings of NPR see NPR (disambiguation) National Public Radio (NPR) is a private, not-for-profit corporation that sells programming to member radio stations; together they are a loosely organized public radio network in the United States. ... PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ... The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on PBS in the United States. ... Frontline is an hour-long public affairs television program produced at WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts, and distributed through the Public Broadcasting Service network in the United States. ...

Genres and ethics

Advocacy journalists — a term of some debate even within the field of journalism — by definition tend to reject "objectivity", while at the same time maintaining many other common standards and ethics. Advocacy journalism aims to persuade through fact-telling. ... Objectivity has several meanings: Objectivity (philosophy) Objectivity (journalism) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Creative nonfiction and Literary journalism use the power of language and literary devices more akin to fiction to bring insight and depth into often book-length treatment of the subjects about which they write. Such devices as dialogue, metaphor, digression and other such techniques offer the reader insights not usually found in standard news reportage. However, authors in this branch of journalism still maintain ethical criteria such as factual and historical accuracy as found in standard news reporting. Yet, with brilliant prose, they venture outside the boundaries of standard news reporting in offering richly detailed accounts. One widely regarded author in genre is Joyce Carol Oates for book on boxer Mike Tyson. Creative nonfiction is a genre of literature, also known as literary journalism, which uses literary skills in the writing of nonfiction. ... Creative nonfiction is a genre of literature, also known as literary journalism, which uses literary skills in the writing of nonfiction. ... The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... The term dialogue (or dialog) expresses basically reciprocal conversation between two or more persons. ... In language, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope where a comparison is made between two seemingly unrelated subjects. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ... Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is a writer of novels, stories, plays, poetry, and non-fiction, known for being one of the most prolific of serious American writers. ... Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966, New York City, USA) is a professional boxer. ...

New Journalism and Gonzo journalism also reject some of the fundamental ethical traditions and will set aside the technical standards of journalistic prose in order to express themselves and reach a particular audience or market segment. New journalism was a style of journalism invented by Tom Wolfe who, when having trouble writing an assignment, sent his editor an unstructured narrative letter rather than the tight piece usually expected of a journalist of that time. ... Gonzo journalism is a journalistic style, most famously used by Hunter S. Thompson. ... Prose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech. ...

Tabloid journalists are often accused of sacrificing accuracy and the personal privacy of their subjects in order to boost sales. Supermarket tabloids are often focused on entertainment rather than news. A few have "news" stories that are so outrageous that they are widely read for entertainment purposes, not for information. Some tabloids do purport to maintain common journalistic standards, but may fall far short in practice. Others make no such claims. A tabloid is a newspaper — especially in the United Kingdom — that uses the tabloid format, which is roughly 23½ by 14¾ inches (597 by 375 mm) per spread. ...

Some publications deliberatly engage in satire, but give the publication the deign elements of a newspaper, for example, The Onion, and it is not unhead of for other publications to offer the occasional, humorous articles appearing on April Fool's Day. Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject (individuals, organizations, states) often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... The Onion is a newspaper of parody and satire, published weekly in print and on the Internet. ... April Fools Day or All Fools Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on 1 April. ...

Relationship with freedom of the press

In countries without freedom of the press, the majority of people who report the news may not follow the above-described standards of journalism. Very often non-free media are prohibited from criticizing the national government, and in many cases are required to distribute propaganda as if it were news. Various other forms of censorship may restrict reporting on issues the government deems sensitive. Freedom of the press (or press freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public speech often through a state constitution for its citizens, and associations of individuals extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ... Censorship is the systematic use of group power to broadly control freedom of speech and expression, largely in regard to secretive matters. ...

Variations, violations, and controversies

There are a number of finer points of journalistic procedure which foster disagreements in principle and variation in practice among "mainstream" journalists in the free press.

Laws concerning libel and slander vary from country to country, and local journalistic standards may be tailored to fit. For example, the United Kingdom has a broader definition of libel than does the United States.

Accuracy is important as a core value and to maintain credibility, but especially in broadcast media, audience share often gravitates toward outlets that are reporting new information first. Different organizations may balance speed and accuracy in different ways. The New York Times, for instance, tends to print longer, more detailed, less speculative, and more thoroughly verified pieces a day or two later than many other newspapers. 24-hour television news networks tend to place much more emphasis on getting the "scoop". Here, viewers may switch channels at a moment's notice; with fierce competition for ratings and a large amount of airtime to fill, fresh material is very valuable. Because of the fast turn-around, reporters for these networks may be under considerable time pressure which reduces their ability to verify information. The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

 Are your headlines fresh? MSNBC - Up to the minute every 15 minutes. -- A billboard advertisement for MSNBC, a 24-hour cable news network, seen 13 Apr 2005 Are your headlines fresh? HYPE - Up to the minute every 15 minutes. -- What an anonymous San Franciscan had altered the billboard to read by 20 Apr 2005 

Laws with regard to personal privacy, official secrets, and media disclosure of names and facts from criminal cases and civil lawsuits differ widely, and journalistic standards may vary accordingly. Different organizations may have different answers to questions about when it is journalistically acceptable to skirt, circumvent, or even break these regulations. Another example of differences surrounding harm reduction is the reporting of preliminary election results. In the United States, some news organizations feel that it is harmful to the democratic process to report exit poll results or preliminary returns while voting is still open. Such reports may influence people who vote later in the day, or who are in western time zones, in their decisions about how and whether or not to vote. There is also some concern that such preliminary results are often inaccurate and may be misleading to the public. Other outlets feel that this information is a vital part of the transparency of the election process, and see no harm (if not considerable benefit) in reporting it. MSNBC logo MSNBC (Microsoft & National Broadcasting Company) is a 24-hour news channel in the United States. ... Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to stop information about themselves from becoming known to people other than those they choose to give the information to. ... for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in order to recover a right, obtain damages for an injury, obtain an injunction to prevent an injury, or obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes. ...

Taste, decency and acceptability

Different audiences have different reactions to depictions of violence, nudity, coarse language, or of people in any other situation which is unacceptable to or stigmatized by the local culture or laws (such as the consumption of alcohol, homosexuality, illegal drug use, scatological images, etc.). Even with similar audiences, different organizations and even individual reporters have different standards and practices. These decisions often revolve around what facts are necessary for the audience to know. In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Homosexuality may refer to: A sexual orientation characterized by aesthetic attraction, romantic love, and sexual desire exclusively or almost exclusively for members of the same sex or with the same gender identity (e. ... Retail selling Street selling is the bottom of the chain and can be accomplished through purchasing from prostitutes, through cloaked retail stores or refuse houses for users in the act located in red-light districts which often also deal in paraphernalia, dealers marketing merriment at night clubs and other events... Scatology, or coprology, in medicine, biology and paleontology, is the study of feces. ...

When certain distasteful or shocking material is considered important to the story, there are a variety of common methods for mitigating negative audience reaction. Advance warning of explicit or disturbing material may allow listeners or readers to avoid content they would rather not be exposed to. Offensive words may be partially obscured or bleeped. Potentially offensive images may be blurred or narrowly cropped. Descriptions may be substituted for pictures; graphic detail might be omitted. Disturbing content might be moved from a cover to an inside page, or from daytime to late evening, when children are less likely to be watching.

There is often considerable controversy over these techniques, especially concern that obscuring or not reporting certain facts or details is self-censorship which compromises objectivity and fidelity to the truth, and which does not serve the public interest. Public interest is a term used to denote political movements and organizations that are in the public interest—supporting general public and civic causes, in opposition of private and corporate ones (particularistic goals). ...

For example, images and graphic descriptions of war are often violent, bloody, shocking, and profoundly tragic. This makes certain content disturbing to some audience members, but it is precisely these aspects of war which some consider to be the most important to convey. Some argue that "sanitizing" the depiction of war influences public opinion about the merits of continuing to fight, and about the policies or circumstances that precipitated the conflict. The amount of explicit violence and mutilation depicted in war coverage varies considerable from time to time, from organization to organization, and from country to country. (See also: Military journalism.)

Campaigning in the media

Many print publications take advantage of their wide readership and print persuasive pieces in the form of unsigned editorials which represent the official position of the organization. Despite the ostensible separation between editorial writing and news gathering, this practice may cause some people to doubt the political objectivity of the publication's news reporting. (Though usually unsigned editorials are accompanied by a diversity of signed opinions from other perspectives.) An editorial is a statement or article by a news organization (generally a newspaper) that expresses an opinion rather than attempting to simply report news. ...

Other publications and many broadcast media only publish opinion pieces which are attributed to a particular individual (who may be an in-house analyst) or to an outside entity. One particularly controversial question is whether or not media organizations should endorse political candidates for office. Political endorsements create more opportunities to construe favoritism in reporting, and can create a perceived conflicts of interest.

Investigative methods

Investigative journalism is largely an information-gathering exercise, looking for facts that are not easy to obtain by simple requests and searches, or are actively being concealed, suppressed or distorted. Where investigative work involves undercover journalism or use of whistleblowers, and even more if it resorts to covert methods more typical of private detectives or even spying, it brings a large extra burden on ethical standards. Investigative journalism is a branch of journalism that usually concentrates on a very specific topic, and typically requires a lot of work to yield results. ... Undercover journalism is a form of journalism in which a reporter tries to infiltrate in a community by posing as somebody friendly to that community. ... A whistleblower is an employee or former employee of an organization who reports misconduct to people or entities that have the power to take corrective action. ... A private investigator, or PI, is a person who undertakes investigations. ...

Anonymous sources are a two-edged sword - they often provide especially newsworthy information, such as classified or confidential information about current events, information about a previously unreported scandal, or the perspective of a particular group that may fear retribution for expressing certain opinions in the press. The downside is that the condition of anonymity may make it difficult or impossible for the reporter to verify the source's statements. Sometimes sources hide their identities from the public because their statements would otherwise quickly be discredited. Thus, statements attributed to anonymous sources may carry more weight with the public than they might if they were attributed. (See also: news source.) Anonymity is the state of not being identifiable within a set, called the anonymity set. When referring to human beings, we say that a person is anonymous when the identity of that person is not known. ... Source is a term used in journalism to refer to any individual from whom information about a story has been received. ...

The Washington press has been criticized in recent years for excessive use of anonymous sources, in particular to report information that is later revealed to be unreliable. The use of anonymous sources increased markedly in the period before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire Official languages None Area 184,824 km² (18th)  - Land 172,587 km²  - Water 12,237 km² (6. ... The neutrality and accuracy of this article are disputed. ...

Science issues

The mainstream press is often criticized for poor accuracy in reporting science news. Many reporters are not scientists, and are thus not familiar with the material they are summarizing. Technical information is also difficult to contextualize for lay audiences, and short-form reporting makes providing background, context, and clarification even harder. Food scares are an example of the need for responsible science journalism, as are stories connected with the safety of medical procedures.

Examples of ethical dilemmas

One of the primary functions of journalism ethics is to aid the journalist in dealing with many ethical dilemmas they may encounter. From highly sensitive issues of national security to everyday questions such as accepting a dinner from a source, putting a bumper sticker on one's car, publishing a personal opinion blog, a journalist must make decisions taking into account things such -- the public's right to know, potential threats, reprisals and intimidations of all kinds, personal integrity, conflicts between editors, reporters and publishers or management -- and many other such conundrums. The following are illustrations of some of those. An ethical dilemma is a situation that often involves an apparent conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. ... Security measures outside the Houses of Parliament, London, England. ... This article is about a type of web application. ...

• The Pentagon Papers delt with extremely difficult ethical dilemmas faced by journalists. Despite Government intervention, The Washington Post, joined by The New York Times, felt the public interest was more compelling and both published reports. (The cases went to the Supreme Court where they were merged and are known as New York Times Co. v. U.S. 403 US 713 [4] (http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/403us713.htm)

• The Washington Post also once had a story about a listening device that the United States had installed over an undersea Soviet cable during the height of the cold war. The device allowed the U.S. to learn where Soviet submarines were positioned. In that case, Post publisher Ben Bradlee chose not to run the story on national security grounds. However, the Soviets subsequently discovered the device and according to Bradlee, "It was no longer a matter of national security. It was a matter of national embarrassment." However, the U.S. Government still wanted The Washington Post not to run the story on the basis of national security, yet, according to Bradee, "We ran the story. And you know what, the sun rose the next day." [5] (http://archives.thedaily.washington.edu/1995/120495/wped.html)

• The Ethics Advice Line [6] (http://ethicsadvicelineforjournalists.org/index.asp), a joint venture, public service project of Chicago Headline Club Chapter[7] (http://www.headlineclub.org/) of the Society of Professional Journalists [8] (http://www.spj.org/) and Loyola University Chicago Center for Ethics and Social Justice [9] (http://www.luc.edu/ethics), provides some examples of typical ethical dilemmas reported to their ethical dilemma hot-line and are typical of the kinds of questions faced by many professional journalists.

A partial listing of questions received by the The Ethics Advice Line:[10] (http://ethicsadvicelineforjournalists.org/questions.asp) The Pentagon Papers are a seven-thousand-page top-secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1971. ... The Washington Post is the largest and oldest newspaper in Washington, D.C. It gained worldwide fame in the early 1970s for its Watergate investigation by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, which played a major role in the undoing of the Nixon presidency. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... The Washington Post is the largest and oldest newspaper in Washington, D.C. It gained worldwide fame in the early 1970s for its Watergate investigation by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, which played a major role in the undoing of the Nixon presidency. ... Soviet redirects here. ... A cold war is a state of conflict between nations that does not involve direct military action but is pursued primarily through economic and political actions, acts of espionage or conflict through surrogates. ... Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (born August 26, 1921) is the vice president of the Washington Post. ... Security measures outside the Houses of Parliament, London, England. ...

Is it ethical to make an appointment to interview an arsonist sought by police, without informing police in advance of the interview?

Is lack of proper attribution plagiarism?

Should a reporter write a story about a local priest who confessed to a sex crime if it will cost the newspaper readers and advertisers who are sympathetic to the priest?

Is it ethical for a reporter to write a news piece on the same topic on which he or she has written an opinion piece in the same paper?

Under what circumstances do you identify a person who was arrested as a relative of a public figure, such as a local sports star?

Freelance journalists and photographers accept cash to write about, or take photos of, events with the promise of attempting to get their work on the AP or other news outlets, from which they also will be paid. Is that ethical?

Can a journalist reveal a source of information after guaranteeing confidentiality if the source proves to be unreliable?

External links

• Ethics code of the Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spj.org/ethics_code.asp) (pdf version) (http://www.spj.org/ethics.pdf)
• Listing of some 370 codes of ethics from around the world (http://www.presscouncils.org/html/frameset.php?page=library2&PHPSESSID=942e03391d2c5ac58f1fe2c28a4cae25)
• Journalistic Standards and Practices (http://cbc.radio-canada.ca/accountability/journalistic/index.shtml) of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
• The BBC's code of ethics for programme makers and Producers' Guidelines (http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/producer_guides/)
• Al Jazeera's Code of Ethics (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/07256105-B2FC-439A-B255-D830BB238EA1.htm)
• Databank for European Codes of Journalism Ethics (http://www.uta.fi/ethicnet/)
• Canadian Association of Journalists Guidelines and Principles (http://www.caj.ca/aims/index.html)
• The Poynter Institute, Ethics (http://www.poynter.org/subject.asp?id=32)
• The Minnesota News Council produces a half-hour television series exploring issues of media standards, practices and ethics. (http://www.news-council.org/newsworthy/tv.html)
• The Detroit Free Press ethics policy (http://www.freep.com/help/ethics_policy.htm)
• Organization of News Ombudsmen (http://www.newsombudsmen.org/)
• Global Issues, Media & Ethics (http://usinfo.org/usia/usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/0401/ijge/ijge0401.htm)
• The Freedom Forum (http://www.freedomforum.org/) An international, nonpartisan foundation dedicated to freedoms of press and speech
• The International Press Institute (http://www.freemedia.at/index1.html)
• Committe to Protect Journalists (http://www.cpj.org/index.html) Deals with press freedom worldwide, defends right of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal.
• Journalism Ethics and law issues (http://www.mallasch.com/journalism/topics.php?op=viewtopic&topic=1) Journalism Blog
• The Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association "Canon of Journalism" (http://www.pressnet.or.jp/english/about/canon.htm)
• Independent Journalist Online, see: sections on Ethics (http://ijo.typepad.com/independent_journalists_o/)
• Medialaw.com's review "Code of Ethics of Various Journalists' Unions in Asia" (http://www.medialaw.com.sg/ethics/jcode.htm)
• Rules of Ethics in Journalism, Iceland (http://www.uta.fi/ethicnet/iceland.html)
• Databank for European Codes of Journalism Ethics (translated into English) (http://www.uta.fi/ethicnet/index.htm)
• Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists (http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Issue=ETHICS&Language=ENIFJ)
• Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists (http://ethicsadvicelineforjournalists.org/)

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known by the abbreviation CBC, is Canadas state-owned radio and television service. ...

Bibliography

• Good News, Bad News: Journalism Ethics and the Public Interest (Critical Studies in Communication and in the Cultural Industries)

by Jeremy Iggers (New York: Westview Press, 1998)

• Journalism Ethics: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary Ethical Issues)

edited by Elliot D. Cohen and Deni Elliott (Abc-Clio, 1998)

• Media Ethics and Accountability Systems.

New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2000. [Originally published in French, translated in Armenia, Brazil, Greece, Italy, Korea, Portugal, Romania & Turkey. Arabic & Chinese translations in progress.]

• Crisis of Conscience: Perspectives on Journalism Ethics.

Hausman, Carl. New York: Harper Collins, 1992.

• Ethics & Journalism

Sanders, Karen. London: Sage Publications, 2003.

Parallels and uses outside journalism

• Wikipedia itself (though an encyclopedia and not a news-reporting organization) maintains a number of policy directives to guide its contributors, chief among them being neutrality and accuracy. Other encyclopedias have similar standards, which are shared in academe; and many non-fiction authors hold themselves to such goals.

• Legal rules of evidence and the scientific method contain rules and procedures for factual accuracy which are similar in some ways to journalistic methods and standards.

• Non-professionals have also benefited from the study and application of Journalism ethics, and many of the ethical and practical standards in journalism have had influence in areas of society such as law, government, and education.

Wikipedia is a Web-based, free-content encyclopedia, which is written collaboratively by volunteers. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOV Wikipedia policy is that all articles should be written from a neutral point of view. ... 1913 advertisement for Encyclopædia Britannica. ... Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... Rules of evidence govern if, when, how, and for what purpose proof of a case is placed before a trier of fact for consideration. ... The scientific method or process is considered fundamental to the scientific investigation and acquisition of new knowledge based upon physical evidence. ... Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow...

See also

• List of topics related to public relations and propaganda