Now is time to move on to the entrée portion of the ethics meal.
In trying to become more acclimated with the several journalistic organizations, I have come across some real helpful web sites that inform and give me ways to improve myself. One site that has caught my eye of late has been the Society of Professional Journalists web site.
Since its founding in 1909, the Society of Professional Journalists organization has been a leading professional member of the journalistic community. Their well-conceived mission statement outlines their main purpose:
“The Society of Professional Journalists is dedicated to the perpetuation of a free press as the cornerstone of our nation and our liberty” (“Our mission”)
The site holds a great deal of importance to aspiring journalists because it outlines the essential elements that a journalist must have to fulfill his or her duties. The Society’s code of ethics, last under revision in 1996, is widely recognized by writers across America.
The SPJ code of ethics features four integral essentials for journalists to be ethical: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable (“SPJ code of ethics”)
The first code, to seek truth and report it, could be the most crucial of the codes to aspiring journalists. First and foremost, the public expects an honest and fair account each time they read an article. The journalist must keep that in mind each time reporting on a story.
Some of the key elements of this code include how to handle sources. It is said by some that a journalist is only as good as their sources, and the journalist has a duty to get accurate information from those sources.
The code mentions that it is important to identify sources whenever possible because it better informs the public. If a source asks for anonymity in a story, it is important to find out their motives for trying to be anonymous. This is a good way to identify if a source is valuable to the story or not.
Journalists are expected to find all they can about each story they cover, but that does not mean they have the power to make a story out of themselves with their conduct. Minimizing harm is a code that cannot be forgotten when approaching subjects for stories.
Journalists all will have to face sensitive situations where they have to take precaution as to how to approach getting information. A journalist has to follow the golden rule when approaching subjects of a story for information.
A journalist cannot simply jump to conclusions and declare a suspect of a crime as guilty before the verdict is in. Journalists have to be as patient as anyone else in a matter such as that.
Journalists have to find a way to act independently. A certain affiliation with a subject of the story can damage a journalist’s credibility. As much as the subjects may try to persuade the journalist one way or another, the journalist must not let that attempt factor into the way the story is written.
As I have been told in journalism courses, a journalist is normally expected to be the invisible writer. Unless it is an opinion piece, journalists cannot allow their own biases to infiltrate one of their stories.
Along the lines of being a public servant, journalists have to be accountable for what they do. If an error is made in coverage, it has to be acknowledged. If a fellow journalist is unethical or distorting information, attention must be brought to the issue to maintain the integrity of the profession.
For more descriptive coverage of each code and SPJ’s preamble for the codes, visit http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
To further explore all of the resources that SPJ has to offer, please visit their homepage, http://www.spj.org/index.asp
For an in-depth look at how a prominent newspaper such as The New York Times outlines its code of ethics, visit http://www.nytco.com/press/ethics.html#intro
References
Our mission. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.spj.org/mission.asp
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