Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists

Last updated

The Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists is a service that provides free help to professional journalists struggling with an ethical decision while covering the news. The program is supported by the Chicago Headline Club (largest professional chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists [ citation needed ]), the Chicago Headline Club Foundation, the Howard and Ursula Dubin Foundation [1] and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Contents

History

The Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists was started on January 2, 2001 by David Ozar, Casey Bukro and James Burke. Bukro and Ozar are its co-directors. [2] It has dealt with over 1,000 cases since then. [3] Queries are responded to by a volunteer staff trained in journalism ethics and teach ethics at universities. Responders include members of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. [4] They are assisted by veteran journalists. [5] AdviceLine also can be contacted through its website. [6] Staff members are on call for a week at a time. They review their responses with members of the Chicago Headline Club, the Chicago chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The program aims to help callers think through their situation and decide on a final course of action themselves. In addition to helping journalists, the program also aims to discover in what areas journalists have the most ethical concerns. [2]

Awards and recognition

In early 2015, AdviceLine won two journalism awards for its blog, which includes commentary on current events in journalism ethics and cases handled by its advisers. On April 23, 2015, the Society of Professional Journalists announced that the AdviceLine blog won the 2014 Sigma Delta Chi Award in the online independent column writing category. The awards recognize exceptional professional journalism. On May 8, 2015, the Chicago Headline Club awarded a 2014 Peter Lisagor Award to the website in the online best continuing independent blog. The Lisagor Awards, named for a celebrated Chicago journalist, are given annually for exemplary journalism. The entry was entitled, "Ethics in Journalism." AdviceLine is partnered with the Chicago Headline Club and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

System

The Ethics AdviceLine is a system that allows callers to leave a message at any time. They may also submit a query online, which is later answered by phone. [4] The program is available only to professional journalists. [1] The program's official aim is to help callers make ethical decisions that:

  1. Are well informed by available standards of professional journalistic practice, especially the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics;
  2. Take account of the perspectives of all the parties involved in the situation;
  3. Employ clear and careful ethical thinking in reaching a decision [4]

Related Research Articles

Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word applies to the occupation, the methods of gathering information, and the organizing literary styles. Journalistic media include: print, television, radio, Internet, and, in the past, newsreels.

Medill School of Journalism Constituent school of Northwestern University

The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the United States. Medill alumni include 40 Pulitzer Prize laureates, numerous national correspondents for major networks, many well-known reporters, columnists and media executives.

Farnaz Fassihi Iranian-American journalist

Farnaz Fassihi is an Iranian-American journalist. She writes about Middle Eastern affairs for The New York Times. Previously she was a senior writer for The Wall Street Journal for 17 years and a conflict reporter based in the Middle East.

Journalistic ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and good practice applicable to journalists. This subset of media ethics is known as journalism's professional "code of ethics" and the "canons of journalism". The basic codes and canons commonly appear in statements by professional journalism associations and individual print, broadcast, and online news organizations.

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn.

Richard Behar

Richard Behar is an American investigative journalist. Since 2012, he has been the Contributing Editor of Investigations for Forbes magazine. From 1982 to 2004, he wrote on the staffs of Forbes, Time and Fortune. Behar's work has also been featured on BBC, CNN, PBS, FoxNews.com and Fast Company magazine. He coordinates Project Klebnikov, a media alliance to probe the Moscow murder of Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov. He is writing a book about Bernard Madoff. Behar is editor of Mideast Dig.

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University promotes research and dialogue in ten major ethics focus areas: Bioethics, Business Ethics, Campus Ethics, Character Education, Government Ethics, Internet Ethics, Journalism and Media Ethics, Leadership Ethics, Social Sector Ethics, and Technology Ethics. The Center develops many practical tools, including a framework for ethical decision making, materials for practice-oriented ethics training programs in the tech industry called Ethics in Technology Practice, and several MOOCs on ethics. The center also offers public talks, workshops, and training, in addition to sponsoring activities on the SCU campus for students, faculty, and staff. The center was created by an endowment from Apple Inc. co-founder Mike Markkula and his wife Linda Markkula.

Lynn Sweet is an American journalist and in October 2013, became the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. She has been with the Sun-Times, for over four decades, joining in 1976. Sweet is also a columnist for The Hill and The Huffington Post. She has appeared on CNN and MSNBC as a political analyst and has been a frequent guest on C-SPAN and Charlie Rose.

Peter Lisagor was Washington bureau chief of the Chicago Daily News from 1959 to 1976 and was one of the most respected and best-known journalists in the United States. Lisagor gained nationwide recognition from his syndicated column and appearances on such public-affairs broadcasts as Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Washington Week in Review, and Agronsky & Company.

Jennifer Vanasco

Jennifer Vanasco is an American journalist at WNYC public radio in New York, where she's an editor in the newsroom and writes about culture, theater and New York news. She created and wrote the Minority Reports column for Columbia Journalism Review, is a former syndicated columnist for the gay press, and was the editor in chief of the defunct 365gay.com and a theater critic for the Chicago Reader.

American Libraries is the flagship magazine of the American Library Association (ALA).

Joshua Kors

Joshua Kors is an attorney and an investigative reporter. He covers military and veterans' issues.

David Leonhardt American journalist and columnist

David Leonhardt is an American journalist and columnist. Beginning April 30, 2020, he writes the daily "The Morning" newsletter for The New York Times. He also contributes to the paper's Sunday Review section. His column previously appeared weekly in The New York Times. He previously wrote the paper's daily e-mail newsletter, which bore his own name. As of October 2018, he also co-hosted a weekly Opinion podcast titled "The Argument", with Ross Douthat and Michelle Goldberg.

David P. Ropeik is an international consultant, author, teacher, and speaker on risk perception and risk communication. He is also creator and director of Improving Media Coverage of Risk, a training program for journalists. He is a regular contributor to Big Think, Psychology Today, Cognoscenti, Medium and the Huffington Post. He has also written articles for other publications, including Nieman Reports.

Chuck Neubauer American newspaper journalist

Chuck Neubauer is an American investigative reporter and journalist. He has written for Chicago newspapers including Chicago Today, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, and other news organizations including the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Times.

Anna Davlantes is an American journalist and television news presenter. She is the current afternoon drive host from 1p-4p Monday-Friday on WGN Radio in Chicago. Prior to working at WGN Radio, she co-hosted Good Day Chicago on Fox 32 Chicago and has worked for PBS station WTTW and NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV in Chicago, ABC affiliate WPTA in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and KRIV in Houston.

Frank Main is a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter from Chicago, Illinois.

<i>Chicago Jewish Star</i>

The Chicago Jewish Star was an independent twice-monthly general interest Jewish newspaper based in Skokie, Illinois, and published from 1991 to 2018. It provided news analysis and opinion on local, national and international events of relevance to the Jewish community, with a focus on literature and arts, politics, and the Middle East. It was a continuation of The Jewish Star, a Canadian newspaper operated by the same principals from 1980-90.

Puruesh Chaudhary

Puruesh Chaudhary is a futures researcher, development and strategic narrative professional. She has a master's degree in International Negotiation and Policymaking from Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. Chaudhary is the founder and president of the non-governmental organization Agahi, a media development and capacity building initiative in Pakistan.

The Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics is a journalism award presented annually by the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It was originally named Wisconsin Commitment to Journalism Ethics Award in 2010, and was renamed after journalist and alumnus Anthony Shadid who died in 2012. According to the Center website, "the Shadid Award recognizes ethical decisions in reporting stories in any medium, including print, broadcast and digital, by journalists working for established news organizations or publishing individually."

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.ethicsadvicelineforjournalists.org/
  2. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2010-03-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. http://headlineclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=258:ethics-adviceline-for-journalists&catid=27:resources-sidebar&Itemid=20
  4. 1 2 3
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.kspress.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2022.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.kspress.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2022.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)