A CODE OF ETHICS Feb. 23, 2010

WHY I BLOG?—A FEW THOUGHTS FROM ANDREW SULLIVAN No editors—save for the millions of online readers and bloggers No borders—linking out to the rest of the blogosphere—but do you trust their information. Truth—transitory because the truth “hasn’t settled” and patterns haven’t emerged. “Blogging is to writing what extreme sports are to athletics: more free form, more accident prone, less formal, more alive. Blogging is writing out loud.”

WHY I BLOG? “Being willing to fall off the trapeze rather than fail to make the leap.” But who will be the net below the trapeze…no copy editors, no fact-checkers, just you… And the thousands of people who want to be your editors, fact-checkers…but why do you believe them? Is he correct in saying that this blogosphere correction and editing is better? What of the line: “Whatever authority a blogger has is derived not from the institution he works for, but from the humanness he conveys?”

WHY I BLOG? Do we need a stable truth? Or is blogging making truth transitory—has it always been such—and technology makes that “fact” more transparent? Do we need a more permanent perspective— where our blogs are fact-checked, our writing becomes more formal? And is that where blogging evolves into journalism?

WHY TALK ETHICS? Journalism has no licensing, no standardized tests, no Hippocratic oath As such, we strive to create a system that allows us to operate freely, but with ethical underpinnings But why do journalists even need ethics? Why have a code—especially if you don’t follow it? Does a code of ethics make you vulnerable or stronger?

A CODE OF ETHICS Journalism’s first obligation is to truth Its first loyalty is to citizens Its essence is a discipline of verification Its practitioners must maintain independence from those they cover It must serve as an independent monitor of power It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant It must keep the news comprehensive and in proportion Its practioners have an obligation to exercise their personal conscience Citizens also have rights and responsibilities when it comes to the news. --from “The Elements of Journalism” by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel

AND YET ANOTHER Seek truth and report it What is truth? Whose truth Minimize harm Harm to whom? Act independently Even from our owners? Our editors? Be accountable To whom? From the Society of Professional Journalists

A BLOGGER’S CODE OF ETHICS A Blogger’s Code of Ethics Could you follow all these requirements if you were blogging every hour, live blogging, tweeting?

THE MOMMY BLOGGER CONTROVERSY One blogger’s response The Blog with Integrity movement See articles posted on website about mommy blogging and lawyers blogging

GATHERING THE NEWS Transparency—not objectivity Tell interview subjects who you are, how their words and images will be used You can give them a sense of the story, but you aren’t required to send them questions prior to the interview Do you tell viewers/readers that your media has paid for a sponsorship of an event (like the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball and ABC) and that’s why you have access? Would you write an advertorial or infomercial if asked to do so by your boss? What if there was extra pay? As freelancer journalists or independent bloggers, do the rules change? Will you notify readers when content is advertising, opinion, or straightforward journalism? How? Will you tell readers/viewers where the information comes from—a news release? That the video you are watching was shot by someone other than the journalist?

GATHERING THE NEWS Bias Will you belong to organizations? Will you own stock in companies you cover? Will you link to organizations/websites that are biased? Will you take gifts from sources—a cup of coffee or a Palm pda a press car or tickets to a football game? Will you take products and services so you can write reviews? Will you return the products? And if not, do you tell your readers? Will you stay away from stories that potentially could upset advertisers?

REPORTING THE NEWS Do your own work…and if you don’t then give credit where credit is due. Changing quotes How do you make certain you quote someone correctly? Handwritten notes are notoriously sloppy If possible, record interviews either with a tape recorder or the audio on a video camera Blogging versus news How do you maintain the kind of distance that is a hallmark of journalism when you are blogging about your stories and sources?

REPORTING THE NEWS Diversity Give voice to the voiceless Act independently There are always more than two sides to a story Get out of your comfort zone Adapt to new surroundings Look for stories that feel uncomfortable

PRESENTING THE NEWS Graphic photographs or aural descriptions Problematic in print and television? Not such a problem online? Correcting mistakes (page 274) “A man should never be ashamed to own he has been wrong, which is but saying in other words that he is wiser today than yesterday”—Jonathan Swift (But who says you’re wrong?) How will you take care of corrections on your site? Strike-throughs? A prominent “corrections” tab?

PRESENTING THE NEWS Linking to sensitive data—even if it’s legal Police blotter—students who have been arrested for underage drinking. Links to sex offenders in specific neighborhoods in a story about the issue Altering images—why would you do this? Context—are you portraying the story’s true context? Do you show only Tibetan monks being beaten by Chinese military…but not show Tibetan youths vandalizing buildings and lighting shops on fire?

YOUR OWN CODE OF ETHICS. Write your own code of ethics Create it for an online environment Pick two or three parts of your code to elaborate on Example: blogging vs. journalism Example: corrections Example: exposing bias

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 30 AND MONDAY, OCT. 5 September 30 Catch up on class lectures Discuss student blog posts to date Discuss midterm—analysis of websites; assign websites or you choose? Monday Oct. 5 Vincent Duffy, news director at WUOM, Michigan Radio—discussion of how a radio station becomes a multimedia entity. What works and what doesn’t on WUOM’s website