Key Documents: Section II. Codes of Ethics/Newsroom Policies and Standards - Interactive Media Organizations

Introduction

Just about anyone can write commentary and report news situations on the web. The mantle of “citizen journalism” goes a long way toward democratizing and expanding the occupation of publishing material for mass consumption. But not everyone who takes advantage of this public forum wants to be seen as a traditional journalist or recognizes the need to ascribe to the same ethical standards and practices. The result can be wildly disparate levels of consistency, professionalism, and accountability for journalistic endeavors online—especially for the huge cadre of free-spirited bloggers posting on a regular basis.

http://CyberJournalist.net, edited by award-winning journalist Jonathan Dube and his partners at the Online News Association, put together a set of ethical rules they hoped all responsible bloggers would embrace. The document uses The Code of Ethics from the Society of Professional Journalists as a jumping-off point, which means mandating fairness and honesty, the desire to minimize harm, and the need to be accountable to both news subjects and readers. Bloggers are specifically urged to “identify and link to sources” where possible, avoid weblog entries or graphics that misrepresent incidents, explain the mission of the weblog and invite feedback, and shed light on the ethical lapses of others in the blogging community.

The respected Poynter Institute, a school for cutting-edge journalism techniques, invited online journalists to a 2006 conference and the group produced a basic framework for practicing ethical web reporting. The attendees asserted that the bedrock principles and values of journalism should transcend delivery platforms, commentary and reporting on blogs or in other online formats had to be clearly labeled, and emerging technologies must continue to be harnessed to “deepen the news experience through multimedia and interactivity.” The conference guidelines also recommended policies for monitoring the relationship between editorial content and advertising, balancing demand for speed online versus thorough reporting, and evaluating the relative worth of various kinds of user-generated content.

Linking, considered essential to all web journalism, received its own section within the guidelines. Journalists involved were particularly concerned that media companies could link to sites without taking responsibility for their authenticity, veracity or way of gathering information. As a result, the document encourages media sites to let readers know that a link does not constitute an endorsement of the other sites' views and that there might be a difference in standards between the media and linked site.

—Glenn Lewis Volume Editor

A Bloggers' Code of Ethics

Be Honest and Fair

Bloggers should be honest and fair in gathering, reporting and interpreting information. Bloggers should:

• Never plagiarize.
• Identify and link to sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.
• Make certain that Weblog entries, quotations, headlines, photos and all other content do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.
• Never distort the content of photos without disclosing what has been changed. Image enhancement is only acceptable for technical clarity. Label montages and photo illustrations.
• Never publish information they know is inaccurate—and if publishing questionable information, make it clear it's in doubt.
• Distinguish between advocacy, commentary and factual information. Even advocacy writing and commentary should not misrepresent fact or context.
• Distinguish factual information and commentary from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.

Minimize

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