Ethics for Student Journalists By: Ben Land

What are Ethics? Ethics are learning the differences between right and wrong. Personal ethics – the standard one lives by to do the right thing in everyday life. You learn right and wrong from the examples set by the home, school, church, peers, and government.

Cont. Different professions have different set of ethics Medicine, law, and journalism have special ethics for members of those professions to follow. For journalists, these ethics guide them in the pursuit of truth in the news-gathering process.

1st amendment The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the basis for the laws and codes that guide journalists in the US in their work. “freedom of press” Congress has made some forms of gathering information illegal.

Benefits for following ethics They help establish a sense of professionalism among all who work for one news organization. Adherence to codes helps establish credibility with readers; the public is confident it can believe what it reads. Codes provide a uniform measure for dealing with news-gathering problems. They make all training equal.

Individual Ethics Codes An ethics code will only be effective if the journalists who work at the newspaper have a code and follow it.

Reporting Want to make sure you focus on ethics when reporting. A news anchor does not want to report a story unless all the information is gathered and the story can be proven. Double check facts. Make sure you know the facts your presenting

Ethics while writing and editing Write a lead that doesn’t distort any information or slant the story in a deceptive way. All facts, statistics, and the spelling of names need to be verified. Review direct and indirect quotes

Code of Ethics for High School Journalists. Don’t accept gifts No special treatment for advertisers Don’t use anonymous sources Clarify Confidentiality Don’t have Conflict of interest Corrections crime news gets special care Crime victims usually receive special care. Don’t use Electronically altered photos Fabrication is prohibited

Cont.… False identity, concealed recording devices, stolen documents and eavesdropping are all illegal news gathering techniques. Limit Identifying a person as a member of any group (race, religion, sexual orientation) Don’t hamper law officials Do not use negative stereotyping News and commentary should be distinguishable. When Reporting personal details about a public persons life be very cautious Photo illustrations and posed photos are acceptable. Plagiarism is prohibited Don’t use profane or vulgar words Don’t use sexist labels and descriptions Sexually explicit words should only be used for accuracy in a health story.