Journalists Respect Human Rights
In some cases, the identity of your sources may need to be anonymous for their own personal and professional safety. Respect this and acknowledge them as a source chosen to be unnamed. The Society of Professional Journalists adds that you should question why a person wishes to be anonymous and to establish clear conditions with your source from the beginning.
When a source asks for sections of an interview to be “off the record,” respect this request.
Respect the privacy of those dealing with tragedy and avoid providing potentially harmful information (such as the name of a minor, a victim of a sex crime or the address of a lottery winner).
Do not engage in slanderous or stereotypical/discriminatory communication. For example, be wary of naming suspects before they have been formally charged.
You’re encouraged to illustrate the diversity of human experiences and views, no matter how unpopular they may be.
As a photojournalist, be conscious of your behavior. There is a fine line between taking photos to accurately represent a breaking news story/opinion piece and infringing on privacy or even risking the safety of your subjects.
Objectivity
Distinguish between writing factual-news stories and opinion/advocacy pieces and label them accordingly. The former should be written as objectively as possible.
You should not purposefully hide or omit information in order to further support your own personal agenda.
Stay clear of any potential conflicts of interest.
Avoid showing preferential treatment to corporate, political or public groups. Every entity should be reported on equally. Do not accept gifts/bribes in exchange for covering stories in a certain way.
Accept Responsibility
If you’ve realized you’ve made mistakes accurately presenting to the truth, accept responsibility and supply the corrections to the public via your media source.
Invite the public to ask questions/seek clarification on the stories you’ve covered and with the media at large.
Hold yourself and others accountable to journalism ethics.
Journalism Ethics in New Media
Media ethics are not limited to traditional print publications. Ethics in journalism also extend to all forms of new media, including social media, online magazines and newspapers, blogs, newswire websites and other forms of digital media. Although some online writers seem to get away with writing falsehoods or plagiarizing (through “cutting and pasting”), as a journalist, you never want to sink to that level. The same journalism ethics apply. In fact, in an online environment, you can further credit sources through providing links to their webpages, if applicable, in addition to naming the author and/or publication.
Journalism Ethics are not always cut and dry. If you ever have any doubts talk to your journalism school professors, media employer/editor or consult the Society of Professional Journalists’ Ethics Hotline.
http:// www.journalismdegree.com/ethics/
The media has violated every tenet of this 24/7. They truly are the enemy of the people.