Journalistic standards or journalism ethics, include principles of 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. The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy. This is one part of value theory (axiology) – the other part is... ethics and of good practice to address the specific challenges faced by professional A journalist is a person who practices journalism. Reporters are one type of journalist. They create reports as a profession for broadcast or publication in mass media such as newspapers, television, radio, magazines, documentary film, and the Internet. Reporters find the sources for their work; the reports can be either... journalists. (Of course, non-professionals may also benefit from their study and application.) Historically and currently these principles are most widely known to journalists as their professional " For other senses of the word code, see code (disambiguation). 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. In communications and information processing, encoding is the process... code of ethics" or the "canons of journalism." The basic codes and canons commonly appear in statements drafted by both professional news trade associations and individual print, Note: broadcasting is also the old term for hand sowing. Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video signals (programs) to a number of recipients (listeners or viewers) that belong to a large group. This group may be the public in general, or a relatively large audience within the public... broadcast, and online news organizations.

While various existing codes have some differences, most share common elements including the principles of — This article is primarily concerned with truth as it is used in the evaluation of propositions. For example, The world is a sphere is true. When used in this way, it is properly contrasted with false. Truth is a concept of primary importance to philosophy, science, law, and religion. See... truthfulness, 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. Precision characterises the degree of mutual agreement among a series of individual measurements, values, or results. A useful analogy In a common analogy... accuracy, 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. Definitions According to some, it refers to the prevailing ideology of newsgathering and reporting that emphasizes eyewitness accounts of events, corroboration of facts with... objectivity, impartiality, Justice is a concept involving the fair and moral treatment of all persons, especially in law. It is often seen as the continued effort to do what is right. In most of all cases what one regards as right is determined by consulting the majority, employing logic, or engaging in... fairness and public accountability — as these apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent reportage to the public.

Like many broader ethical systems, journalism ethics emphasize 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 1.A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. Major publishing companies include AOL Time Warner, including subsidiaries Warner Books and Little, Brown ASCII Baen Books Farrar, Straus and Giroux Hachette Filipacchi Media Harlequin Mills & Boon Harper Collins, including William Morrow and Avon... publishers. Today, it is common for terms of employment to mandate adherence to such codes equally applicable to both staff and 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. The words etymology derives from the Medieval term for a mercenary soldier, a free lance, i.e. a soldier who is... 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.

Journalistic codes of ethics are designed as guides though numerous difficulties, such as A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust, most commonly a lawyer, a politician, or a director of a corporation, has competing professional or personal interests that would either make it difficult to fulfill his or her duties fairly, or would create an... conflicts of interest, in general, assisting journalists in dealing with any number of 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. Ethical dilemmas are often cited in an attempt to refute an ethical or morality system, as well as the worldview that encompasses it. These arguments... ethical dilemmas. The codes and canons provide journalists a framework for self-monitoring and self-correction as they pursue professional assignments.

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 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). The public interest can also mean more generally what is considered beneficial to the public. It... public interest.

Codes of practice

While the The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America¹, 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... United States and 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. It is conventionally considered a continent, which, in this case, is more of a cultural distinction than a geographic one. ( National Geographic, however, officially recognises... 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 (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. It also extends to news gathering, and processes involved in... 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.

One of the leading voices in the For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). The United States of America, also referred to as the United States, U.S.A., U.S., US, America¹, or the States, is a federal republic of fifty states, mostly in central North America. The U.S. has three land... U.S. on the subject of Journalistic Standards and 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. The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy. This is one part of value theory (axiology) – the other part is... Ethics is the Society of Professional Journalists.[1] (http://www.spj.org/) The Preamble to its Code of Ethics states:

...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 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. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. If an article... PDF file) to these standards.

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

• The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was formed in 1927 by means of a royal charter from the Crown. (For the history of the BBC before 1927, see British Broadcasting Company and for a complete list of articles see BBC (index).) Today the BBC is the national publicly-funded broadcaster of... British Broadcasting Company: Producer guides (http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/producer_guides/).
• CBC redirects here, as this is the most common use of the abbreviation. For other uses, see CBC (disambiguation). The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known by the abbreviation CBC, is Canadas government_owned television network and radio network. In French, it is called la Société Radio_Canada (Radio_Canada or SRC... The Canadian Broadcasting Company: Journalistic Standards and Practices (http://cbc.radio-canada.ca/accountability/journalistic/index.shtml)
• Al Jazeera logo Al Jazeera (الجزيرة), meaning The Island or The (Arabian) Peninsula (whence also Algiers) is an Arabic television channel based in Qatar. Al Jazira can also refer to a region of Iraq. History Al Jazeera claims to be the only politically independent... 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)

Common elements

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

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. Definitions According to some, it refers to the prevailing ideology of newsgathering and reporting that emphasizes eyewitness accounts of events, corroboration of facts with... Objectivity

• Unequivocal separation between news and opinion. In-house 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. Editorials are not written by the regular reporters; rather, they are collectively authored by a group of individuals called the editorial board. They represent the... editorials and opinion ( An Op-Ed is a piece of writing expressing an opinion or editorial. Such items are often found in a full newspaper page, containing such articles by columnists, letters to the editor, and other points, rather than news or facts. It is primarily an American term. The name came from... Op-Ed) pieces are clearly separated from news pieces. News reporters and editorial staff are distinct.
• Unequivocal separation between Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. Marketers see advertising as part of an overall promotional strategy. Other components of the promotional mix include publicity, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion. History In ancient times the most common form... 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 In ancient Rome, censorship was the office or function of a censor. This article is about controls over publication and discussion. The utensil for incense is a censer; a device or organ that senses its environment is a sensor. Censorship is the use of state or group power to control... censorship, must be disclosed.

Sources

• Confidentiality of anonymous sources (see Source is a term used in journalism to refer to any individual from whom information about a story has been received. Outside of journalism, such a person is sometimes known as a news source. A more colloquial term for this is informant. Usually, a person is not referred to as... news source).
• Avoidance of anonymous sources when possible.
• Accurate In journalism attribution is the identification of the source of reported information. Journalists ethical codes normally address the issue of attribution, which is sensitive because in the course of their work journalists may receive information from sources who wish to remain anonymous. In investigative journalism important news stories often depend... 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 refers to the use of anothers ideas, information, language, or writing, when done without proper acknowledgment of the original source. It may also include an element of dishonesty relating to an attempt to pass off the plagiarised work as original. Plagiarism is not necessarily the same as copyright... Plagiarism is strongly stigmatized and in many cases illegal (see The copyright symbol is used to give notice that a work is covered by copyright. 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... copyright).

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 A miscarriage of justice is primarily the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime that they did not commit. The term can also be applied to errors in the other direction, and to civil cases, but those usages are rarer. Most criminal justice systems have some means to... 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.

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. Defamation is however the generally-used term internationally, and is... 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

Harm reduction

• Responsible reporters avoid publishing information would could cause serious human harm, such as timely tactical military information, information that would compromise an ongoing criminal investigation, or information that could lead to physical harm to the source or subject. This does not preclude disclosing classified information, publishing leaks, or reporting negative information about people, if it is in the 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). The public interest can also mean more generally what is considered beneficial to the public. It... public interest to do so.
• Images or graphic details that may be upsetting to some audience members are handled responsibly. Some view any self-censorship on these issues to be a dishonest distortion of the news; others feel that in cases where the facts can be reported accurately and vividly without upsetting images or descriptions, the latter can be safely left out. Warnings to the audience about upcoming material are a common compromise.
• Some media outlets refrain from reporting on early results while an This article is about the political process. For the film directed by Alexander Payne, see Election (movie). For the theological concept, see Predestination. A pre-election hustings at the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, England. An election is a process in which a vote is held to elect candidates to... election is actually taking place, so as not to unduly influence the outcome. Election results also generate intense public interest which acts as a strong pressure to limit any delays in reporting to the bare minimum, if not to report on events as they happen (for real-time media).

Presentation

In addition to ethical standards, there are also common standards of quality of presentation, including:

• Correctly spoken or written language (often in a widely spoken and formal dialect, such as Standard English is a general term for a form of written and spoken English that is considered the model for educated people. There are no set rules or vocabulary for standard English because, unlike languages such as French, English does not have a governing body (see Académie française... Standard English)
• Clarity
• Brevity (or depth, depending on the niche of the publisher)

Self-regulation

In addition to codes of ethics, many news organizations maintain an in-house An ombudsman is a government official charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. The term arose from its use in Sweden, with the Parliamentary ombudsman instituted in 1809 to safeguard the rights of citizens by establishing a supervisory agency independent... 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.

The alternative is an industry-wide self-regulation body, such as the The Press Complaints Commission is a British organisation that has regulated printed newspapers and magazines since 1990. The Commission is funded by the annual levy it charges newspapers and magazines. It has no legal powers - all newspapers and magazines voluntarily contribute to the costs of, and adhere to the rulings... 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.

Standards and ethics in practice

See main articles: 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. As their reputations for accuracy and truthfulness are arguably the... journalism scandals, 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. In essence, media bias generally refers to accusations of either censorship or propagandism... media bias, and Yellow journalism is a type of journalism in which sensationalism triumphs over factual reporting. This may take such forms as the use of colorful adjectives, exaggeration, a careless lack of fact-checking for the sake of a quick breaking news story, or even deliberate falsification of entire incidents. The sensationalized... yellow journalism

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 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. In essence, media bias generally refers to accusations of either censorship or propagandism... media bias, especially on political issues, but also with regard to cultural and other issues. Sensationalism is a manner of being extremely controversial, loud, attention-grabbing, or otherwise sensationalistic. The term is commonly used in reference to the media. Critics of media bias of all political stripes often charge the media with engaging in sensationalism in their reporting and conduct. That is to say they... 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.

There are also some wider concerns, as the media continue to change, for example that the brevity of news reports and use of 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. As the context of what... 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 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 following categorization of news management techniques is based on factors identified in an analysis by Gaber, 1999, primarily dealing with political news... news management contributes to the real possibility that 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). Usually the term includes all working journalists and is often used by those who would make generalizations about the... news media may be deliberately manipulated. Selective reporting ( Note: spiking a drink means adding alcohol or another drug to it, with or without the drinkers consent, to create intoxication. It may even be intended to create deliberate unconsciousness in order to commit rape. In journalism, spiking is the practice of deliberately choosing not to publish a news... spiking, A double standard is an ethical rule applied more stringently to one party than to others. Such an application is generally viewed as hypocrisy, but is more often condemned in the abstract, if it is condemned at all, while being simultaneously excused in the particular. When accused of using a... double standards) are very commonly alleged against newspapers, and by their nature are forms of bias not easy to establish, or guard against.

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

Even among serious news organizations that adopt and attempt to uphold the common standards of journalism described above, adherence and general quality varies considerably. The professionalism and reliability of a news organization is a major factor in its long-term reputation, both with the public and within the industry.

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

• The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was formed in 1927 by means of a royal charter from the Crown. (For the history of the BBC before 1927, see British Broadcasting Company and for a complete list of articles see BBC (index).) Today the BBC is the national publicly-funded broadcaster of... BBC
• 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). It is a division of the Turner Broadcasting System, owned by Time Warner. CNN is widely... CNN
• 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. NPR was created in 1970, following the passage of... National Public Radio in the United States
• 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. It is owned by The New York Times Company, which also publishes other major newspapers like International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe, among... New York Times
• 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. PBS headquarters are in Alexandria, Virginia. PBS was founded in 1969, at which time it took... PBS, in particular The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on PBS in the United States. Unlike most other evening newscasts in the country, it is an hour in length. The program runs longer segments than most other news outlets in the U.S., with in-depth... The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer for news
• ... Washington Post

Local publications and programs are generally less respected and in some cases are somewhat lax about upholding journalistic integrity. For example, it is not unheard of for a small-town or neighborhood newspaper to editorialize about local goings-on in news reports.

Adoption and compliance issues

Advocacy journalism aims to persuade through fact-telling. It rejects the notion of objectivity, instead exposing bias to the reader and expressing explicit opinions on the subject matter. The general goal is to present facts in such a compelling, well-researched manner that even a skeptical reader or one who... Advocacy journalists by definition reject "objectivity", but usually at least attempt to maintain the other common standards and ethics. 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. This letter was published under the title There Goes (Varoom! Varoom!) That... New Journalism and Gonzo Journalism is a journalistic style, most famously used by Hunter S. Thompson. The name was coined by Bill Cardoso. Central to Gonzo Journalism is the notion that journalism can be more truthful without strict observance of traditional rules of factual reportage. The best work in the genre is characterised... Gonzo journalism also reject these traditional style and standards.

A tabloid is a newspaper — especially in the United Kingdom — that uses the tabloid format, which is roughly 23½ by 14¾ inches per spread. This is the smaller of two standard newspaper sizes; the larger newspapers, associated with higher-quality journalism, are called broadsheets. (Ironically, three of the... 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.

Some "news" publications and programs are intended to be 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. In Celtic societies, it was thought a bards satire could have physical effects, similar to a curse. A satirist is one who... satire. Humorous articles also sometimes appear on 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. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication, the aim of which is to embarrass... April Fool's Day.

Relationship with freedom of the press

In countries without 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. It also extends to news gathering, and processes involved in... 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 This article is about the type of communication. For other meanings, see Propaganda (disambiguation). North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation aimed at serving an agenda. At its root, the denotation of propaganda is to propagate (actively... propaganda as if it were news. Various other forms of In ancient Rome, censorship was the office or function of a censor. This article is about controls over publication and discussion. The utensil for incense is a censer; a device or organ that senses its environment is a sensor. Censorship is the use of state or group power to control... censorship may restrict reporting on issues the government deems sensitive.

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the British Commonwealth and European Union. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, UK or, inaccurately, as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent parts. Three of these parts... United Kingdom has a broader definition of libel than does the The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America¹, 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... 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 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. It is owned by The New York Times Company, which also publishes other major newspapers like International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe, among... New York Times, for instance, tends to print longer, more details, 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.

Are your headlines fresh? MSNBC - up to the minute every 15 minutes.

-- A billboard advertisement for MSNBC logo MSNBC (Microsoft & National Broadcasting Company) is a 24-hour news channel in the United States. It is available in over 76 million households in the U.S. and broadcasts primarily out of its studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. History Launched on July 15, 1996, MSNBC is currently... MSNBC, a 24-hour cable news network. (seen 13 Apr 2005)

Laws with regard to personal Privacy is the ability of a person to control the availability of information about and exposure of him- or herself. It is related to being able to function in society anonymously (including pseudonymous or blind credential identification). According to Eric Hughes, Privacy is the power to selectively reveal oneself to... privacy, official secrets, and media disclosure of names and facts from for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. According to Western jurisprudence, there must be a simultaneous concurrence of both actus reus (guilty action) and mens rea (guilty mind) for a crime to have been committed; except in crimes... criminal cases and civil 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. It usually involves dispute resolution of private law issues between individuals, business... 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.

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 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). This sense underlies the term alcoholism ( addiction... alcohol, Homosexuality may refer to: A sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, and sexual desire exclusively or almost exclusively for members of the same sex or with the same gender identity (e.g. male or female). Sexual behavior with another of the same sex or gender regardless of sexual... ], 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... illegal drug use, Scatology, or coprology, in medicine, biology and paleontology, is the study of feces. In psychology, a scatology is an obsession with excretion or excrement, or the study of such obsessions. (See also coprophilia). In literature, scatological commonly describes indecent works that make particular reference to excretion or excrement, as well... 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.

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 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). The public interest can also mean more generally what is considered beneficial to the public. It... public interest.

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 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. Editorials are not written by the regular reporters; rather, they are collectively authored by a group of individuals called the editorial board. They represent the... 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.)

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 a branch of journalism that usually concentrates on a very specific topic, and typically requires a lot of work to yield results. The classic example is the uncovering of the Watergate Scandal by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, resulting in reports being published in the Washington Post... 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 is a form of journalism in which a reporter tries to infiltrate in a community by posing as somebody friendly to that community. Journalists who are famous for their undercover reports: Nellie Bly Günter Wallraff 60 Minutes Categories: Investigative reporting ... undercover journalism or use of A whistleblower is someone in an organization who witnesses behavior by members that is either contrary to the mission of the organization, or threatening to the public interest, and who decides to speak out publicly about it. For instance, Jeffrey Wigand is a well-known whistleblower in the United States... whistleblowers, and even more if it resorts to covert methods more typical of A private investigator, or PI, is a person who undertakes investigations. They often work for attorneys in civil cases or on behalf of a defense attorney. Many work for insurance companies to resolve claims. Before the advent of no-fault divorce, many private investigators were hired to search out evidence... private detectives or even spying, it brings a large extra burden on ethical standards.

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 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. Being anonymous usually is a result of not disclosing ones identity. This may... 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: Source is a term used in journalism to refer to any individual from whom information about a story has been received. Outside of journalism, such a person is sometimes known as a news source. A more colloquial term for this is informant. Usually, a person is not referred to as... news source.)

The This article deals with the U.S. state. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation) 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... 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 For other uses of the term, see Iraq war (disambiguation) The 2003 invasion of Iraq (also called the 2nd or 3rd Persian Gulf War) began on March 20, 2003, when forces belonging primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom invaded Iraq without the explicit backing of the United... 2003 invasion of Iraq.

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.

Ethical Dilemmas, Examples

One of the primary functions of journalism ethics is to aid the journalist in dealing with many 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. Ethical dilemmas are often cited in an attempt to refute an ethical or morality system, as well as the worldview that encompasses it. These arguments... ethical dilemmas they may encounter. From highly sensitive issues of Security measures outside the Houses of Parliament, London, England. These heavy (and ugly) blocks of concrete will prevent a vehicle being rammed into the building National security is the measures taken by a state to ensure its survival and safety. National Security includes the deterrence of attack, from within and... 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 This article is about a type of web application. For information on records of web server activity, see server log. A weblog, Web log or simply a blog, is a web application which contains periodic posts on a common webpage. These posts are often but not necessarily in reverse chronological... 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.

• The 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 Pentagon Papers were leaked in 1971 by Department of Defense worker Daniel Ellsberg. Excerpts were published as a series of... Pentagon Papers delt with extremely difficult ethical dilemmas faced by journalists. Despite Government intervention, Alternative meaning: The Washington Post (march) Washington Post logo Screenshot from Washington Post website 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... The Washington Post, joined by 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. It is owned by The New York Times Company, which also publishes other major newspapers like International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe, among... 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 [3]  (http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/403us713.htm)

• Alternative meaning: The Washington Post (march) Washington Post logo Screenshot from Washington Post website 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... The Washington Post also once had a story about a listening device that the The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America¹, 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... United States had installed over an undersea Soviet redirects here. For other uses, see Soviet (disambiguation). The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Р... Soviet cable during the height of the The Cold War ( 1947- 1991) was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between groups of nations practicing different ideologies and political systems. On one side was the Soviet Union and its allies, often referred to as the Eastern bloc. On the other side were the... cold war. The device allowed the U.S. to learn where Soviet submarines were positioned. In that case, Post publisher Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (born August 26, 1921) is the vice president of the Washington Post. As managing editor of the Post from 1965 to 1991, he challenged the federal government over the right to publish the Pentagon papers. He became famous for overseeing the publication of Bob Woodward and Carl... Ben Bradlee chose not to run the story on Security measures outside the Houses of Parliament, London, England. These heavy (and ugly) blocks of concrete will prevent a vehicle being rammed into the building National security is the measures taken by a state to ensure its survival and safety. National Security includes the deterrence of attack, from within and... 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." [4]  (http://archives.thedaily.washington.edu/1995/120495/wped.html)

• The Ethics Advice Line [5]  (http://ethicsadvicelineforjournalists.org/index.asp), a joint venture, public service project of Chicago Headline Club Chapter[6] (http://www.headlineclub.org/) of the Society of Professional Journalists [7] (http://www.spj.org/) and Loyola University Chicago Center for Ethics and Social Justice [8] (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:[9]  (http://ethicsadvicelineforjournalists.org/questions.asp)

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?

Parallels outside journalism

Wikipedia is a Web-based free content encyclopedia designed to be read and edited by anyone, with editions of varying sizes in 190 languages. About 6,000 (dec.2004) active users collaboratively edit and maintain the English edition Wikipedia, which has allowed it in just over four years of operation... 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 Shortcut: WP:NPOV Wikipedia policy is that all articles should be written from a neutral point of view. According to Wikipedia founder Jimbo Wales, NPOV is absolute and non-negotiable. [1] For guidance on making an article conform to the neutral point of view (NPOV), please see the tutorial. Introduction... neutrality and accuracy. Other 1913 advertisement for Encyclopædia Britannica. An encyclopedia (alternatively encyclopaedia) is a written compendium of knowledge. The term comes from the Greek words εγκύκλιος παιδεία, enkyklios paideia (in a circle of instruction). This comes from ε... encyclopedias have similar standards, which are shared in Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. Academia is a general term for the whole of higher education and research. The word comes from the Greek referring to the greater body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations... academe; and many non-fiction authors hold themselves to such goals.

Legal Rules of evidence govern if, when, how, and for what purpose proof of a case is placed before a trier of fact for consideration. In the judicial system of the United States, the trier of fact may be a judge or a jury depending on the purpose of the trial... rules of evidence and the The scientific method or process is fundamental to the scientific investigation and acquisition of new knowledge based upon physical evidence. Scientists propose new assertions about our world in the form of theories: observations, hypotheses, and deductions. Predictions from these theories are tested by experiment. If a prediction turns out to... scientific method contain rules and procedures for factual accuracy which are similar in some ways to journalistic methods and standards.

External links

• Ethics code of the Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spj.org/ethics_code.asp)
• Listing of some 370 codes of ethics from around the world (http://www.presscouncils.org/html/frameset.php?page=library2&PHPSESSID=942e03391d2c5ac58f1fe2c28a4cae25)
• Journalistic standards (http://www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/htmen/policies/journalistic/) of the CBC redirects here, as this is the most common use of the abbreviation. For other uses, see CBC (disambiguation). The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known by the abbreviation CBC, is Canadas government-owned radio and television network. In French, it is called la Société Radio-Canada... 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 (http://www.caj.ca/principles/principles-statement-may-2002.htm)
• Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics (pdf file) (http://www.spj.org/ethics.pdf)
• 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/)

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.

See also

• Ad Council Americas Army, video game produced by the U.S. government with the stated aim of encouraging players to become interested in joining the U.S. Army. Disinformation; providing false information Information warfare; the practice of disseminating information in an attempt to advance your agenda relative to a... List of topics related to public relations and propaganda
• Category:Criticism of journalism