Self-Regulation

News media self-regulation is defined as a system of voluntary accountability of journalists to the public. It is based on agreed principles of [Page 1473]professional ethics and includes mechanisms of complaints review, monitoring, and conflict resolution in the field of their professional activity. Common elements of media self-regulation throughout the world are professional codes, press councils, and public editors, as described in this entry.

The interdependent reasons for a media organization to develop self-regulation include the following:

• to preserve editorial freedom from interference by media proprietors, advertisers, and the government;
• to advance market position by achieving higher media quality and standards than others while proving its own effective public accountability; and
• to help audiences access the media and engage with journalists, thus gaining public trust.

In the public eye, responsibility ...