Code of ethics in media

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The code of ethics in media was created by a suggestion from the 1947 Hutchins Commission. They suggested that newspapers, broadcasters and journalists had started to become more responsible for journalism and thought they should be held accountable.

Contents

Original guidelines

The guidelines were set up around two important ideas. The first guideline is that "whoever enjoys a special measure of freedom, like a professional journalist, has an obligation to society to use their freedoms and powers responsibly." [1] This guideline is useful so that people in power are able to be held liable in case their actions are not professional. People that have high media attention should not abuse the power. The second guideline that was established is "society's welfare is paramount, more important than individual careers or even individual rights." [1] Again, may cause a manipulation to the truth of a story holding people responsible for their actions and stating that society is more important due to the vast number of people that could be affected by poor behavior.

The Hutchins Commission added another five guidelines specifically for the press.

  1. "Present meaningful news, accurate and separated from opinion."
  2. "Serve as a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism and to expand access to diverse points of view."
  3. "Project a representative picture of the constituent groups in society by avoiding stereotypes by including minority groups."
  4. "Clarify the goals and values of society; implicit was an appeal to avoid pandering to the lowest common denominator."
  5. "Give broad coverage of what was known about society." [1]

All of these guidelines are important because the press is needed to maintain a neutral viewpoint, providing the basic facts and allowing for readers to come up with their own opinions from the news that they report.

These guidelines provide the frame work and inspiration for the Fourth Estate's Journalism Code of Practice [2] and the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics .

Fourth Estate: Journalism Code of Practice

The Fourth Estate offers a clear and detailed Code of Practice for anyone seeking to create ethical, principled journalism, regardless of their background, employment status, or means of delivery. This code is equally relevant for professional journalists and for those outside the profession who are seeking to report honestly and fairly on the events and issues relevant to their community.

Accuracy

Accuracy is the overriding value of journalism.

Independence

Independence from state control, business interests, market forces, or any other vested interest or outside pressure is a hallmark of dispassionate, critical, and reliable journalism. It bolsters legitimacy and credibility in the eyes of the public.

Impartiality

Impartiality means not being prejudiced towards or against any particular ideology, idea, or preconception. Impartiality requires fairness and balance that follows the weight of evidence: it allows the journalist to make sense of events through dispassionate analysis of all relevant facts and perspectives.

Integrity

Integrity in journalism ensures that people and organizations uphold the values of journalism, always strive to do the right thing in all situations, even to their personal or organizational detriment, and put their obligations to the public first.

Harm minimization

Journalists must always remember that they are dealing with human lives. The potential for public good must sufficiently outweigh the potential for harm that may come from the activity of journalism.

Engagement

Engagement with the public ensures that journalism remains open, accessible, collaborative, and participatory while keeping the journalist accountable to the highest standards of accuracy, independence, impartiality, and integrity.

Accountability

Accountability is essential to the ethical practice of journalism and the maintenance of the public trust. Being accountable for news-gathering practices and reporting means making firm commitments and taking responsibility for your journalism and the journalism of your peers.

Society of Professional Journalists' version

The Society of Professional Journalists first created its own code of ethics in 1973, which has been revised four times, most recently in 2014. [3] The SPJ code features four principles of ethical journalism:

Seek Truth and Report It "Journalists should be honest, fair, and courageous in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information. Journalists should:

Minimize Harm "Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects, and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect. Journalists should:

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

Be Accountable "Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers, and each other. Journalists should:

See also

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References

Sources

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Straubhaar, Joseph; LaRose, Robert; Davenport, Lucinda (2010). Media now: Understanding media, culture, and technology. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. pp. 477–479. ISBN   978-1-305-08035-5.
  2. Sunderland, Alan; Brown, W. Jeffrey. "Journalism Code of Practice". Fourth Estate. Archived from the original on Jan 25, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "SPJ Code of Ethics". Society of Professional Journalists. September 6, 2014. Archived from the original on 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2023-10-17.