What is bias?

Bias is a prejudice or favour for or against an individual or group. It is often an inaccurate and unfair judgement. We are all biased. It’s normal, although it is not desirable

Our brains have to process a lot of information in a short time. It therefore sometimes takes shortcuts. This ability can help keep us safe. We quickly assess whether or not the unknown person approaching us is a threat or harmless.

Factors affecting our unconscious bias

• Our background and upbringing
• Personal experience
• Societal stereotypes
• Cultural context

Unconscious bias can lead to inaccurate assumptions

Journalists should not make assumptions. They should base their judgements on facts and reliable evidence.

• Unconscious bias can lead to damaging stereotypes.
• It can lead to the assumption of innocence or guilt.
• It can mean only a few types of people are interviewed and have their views broadcast or published.
• It can mean that the best people are not hired for the job.

Different types of unconscious bias

Unconscious bias means we do not knowingly show bias, but bias is evident in what we produce. If we are aware of the different types of bias, we can take steps to try to avoid it.

Affinity bias

This bias occurs when we are drawn to people we are like. We are biased in favour of those with whom we share an affinity. That’s to say: people like me.

Confirmation bias

This bias occurs when we favour information, which confirms what we already believe. For example, if we are not in favour of policy X, we are more willing to believe that minor setbacks are major problems and proof that ultimately policy X will fail.

Anchor bias

This bias occurs when we rely too heavily on the first piece of information we receive and we are anchored down by it. For example, if the first piece of information we receive comes from an official who says Y is a problem – we will see Y as a problem rather than questioning whether or not this is true in the first place.

Bandwagon Bias

Jumping on the bandwagon means joining in something just because it is fashionable or popular. Journalists often follow stories or trends because other media outlets are doing so. Journalists need to keep up with current trends, but just because other media houses are following a story it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s important or true.

How to avoid unconscious bias

• Be aware of the different types of unconscious bias.
• Think about the situations where you are likely to be susceptible to unconscious bias.
• Find your trigger points when you are likely to make snap judgements.

Possible triggers for unconscious bias

• Under pressure of a deadline.
• Under pressure from your boss to come up with stories.
• When you are tired, stressed or hungry.
• When you are in an unfamiliar territory or with unfamiliar people.
• When you feel threatened or judged.

Measures for tackling unconscious bias

• Step out of your comfort zone. Talk to as many different types of people as you can.
• Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. See things from their perspective.
• Counter stereotyping by imagining the person as the opposite of the stereotype.
• See everyone as an individual rather than a type.
• Flip the situation. Imagine a different group of people or flip the gender. Would you still come to the same conclusions?
• Be careful with your language and images. Make sure they do not contain assumptions, harmful stereotypes or inaccuracies.

Test your knowledge of unconscious bias

Question 1: Unconscious bias is a quick judgement based on limited facts and our own life experience. True or false?

Answer = True. Biases are often based on quick judgements. Examining your assumptions is a good way to counter bias.

Question 2: The manager agrees to let one of your colleagues work flexible hours. You view this as an indication that they are not as committed as those who work regular hours. This is not unconscious bias if they later do turn out to be trying to avoid certain responsibilities. True or false?

Answer = False. In this case, someone who believes that employees who work flexible hours are less committed than those working more traditional hours may start to develop perceptions of colleagues who work flexibly which confirm that belief. This is unconscious confirmation bias.

Question 3: If you choose to recruit candidate Z because you get on with them because you studied at the same college – this is not affinity bias if they are a different gender and ethnicity to you. True or false?

Answer = False. It is affinity bias because you still feel an affinity to them through a shared experience of college.

Question 4: Unconscious bias is based on the following:

1. Gender
2. Appearance
3. Previous experience
4. Ethnicity
5. All the above

Answer = All the above.

Question 5: What is affinity bias?

1. Believing something because your friends believe it.
2. Being more receptive to people who are like you.
3. Looking for evidence which backs up your beliefs about someone.
4. Creating stereotypes about different groups of people.

Answer = b is correct

Question 6: Unconscious bias can give people an unearned advantage and unearned disadvantage. True or false?

Answer = True

Take a look at these other modules on Media Helping Media to help you keep your journalism up to the highest standards.

False equivalence and false balance

Accuracy in journalism

The post Unconscious bias and its impact on journalism first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Journalism, PR or propaganda?

If the content you produce pushes an agenda, spins a line, favours a sector of society, promotes a certain initiative without question, is manipulated to achieve a subjective outcome, or has a desired objective, you are probably producing public relations copy or even propaganda.

Real journalism is based on applying strict editorial ethics to all we do so that we can examine the issues that have the most impact on the lives of our audience.

So, does your journalism pass the test? Consider the following questions to see whether your journalism is ethical or not.

Eight questions to consider

1: What is your journalistic purpose and what do you hope to achieve by doing the story?

2: What is your personal motivation? Do you have any vested interests in the outcome?

3: Have you included different perspectives and diverse ideas so that the journalism you produce is thorough and informative?

4: Have you ignored any elements that might appear to weaken the story you are writing?

5: Have you considered what motivates those you are interviewing?

6: Are all your questions fair, or are they leading or manipulative? 

7: What are the possible consequences of the story you are producing both in the short term and long term?  

8: Are you using those you choose to interview in order to strengthen your article without considering the possible harm they might suffer once the story is published?

9: Are you able to justify your editorial decisions to your colleagues, to those who you interview, and to the public?

10: Is your journalism original, well-sourced, accurate, and honest?

Seven rules for getting it right

1: Keep your eyes wide open – seek truth and report it as fully as possible.

2: Act independently – owe nobody and don’t seek favours or favourites.

3: Minimise harm – protect your sources, respect privacy, be aware of possible consequences.

4: Assess all facts – don’t ignore the uncomfortable, or that which goes against your script.

5: Seek out independent sources – don’t follow the flock, find fresh voices and perspectives.

6: Thoroughly check the validity of information – take nothing at face value and make sure you have researched and can justify the inclusion of every fact.

7: Be wary of subjective manipulation – don’t be swayed by those who want you to put a positive spin on news.

Seven attitudes of mind

1: Be honest, fair, and courageous in your news gathering and reporting.

2: Give voice to the voiceless, scrutinise the executive and ensure your journalism holds the powerful to account.

3: Guard vigorously the role a free media plays in an open society.

4: Seek out and disseminate competing perspectives, especially those which are rarely heard.

5: Remain free of associations and activities that could compromise your ability to publish the truth.

6: Always consider how your journalism could impact the lives of those who feature in your coverage.

7: Treat all with respect, and not as a means to achieving your journalistic end.

A dozen rules on accuracy

1: All work must be well-sourced.

2: It must be based on sound evidence.

3: Your writing must be thoroughly fact-checked.

4: It must be presented in clear, precise language.

5: Avoid spreading unfounded speculation, rumour and gossip.

6: Accuracy is more important than speed. Never rush a story to be first with the news. Better to be second and right rather than first and wrong.

7: Ensure you always weigh all the relevant facts and information in order to get to the truth.

8: If an issue is controversial you must always include all relevant opinions so that your reporting is not one-sided.

9: Gather material using first-hand sources wherever possible.

10: Ensure you read through everything you write.

11: Check the authenticity of documentary evidence and digital material.

12: Corroborate claims and allegations made.

Six considerations regarding impartiality and diversity of opinion

1: Always strive to reflect a wide range of opinions.

2: Always be prepared to explore a range of conflicting views.

3: Never ignore any significant strands of thought or under-represented groups.

4: Exercise your freedom to produce content about any subject, at any point on the spectrum of debate, as long as there are good editorial reasons for doing so.

5: Ensure to avoid bias or an imbalance of views on all issues, particularly controversial subjects.

6: You will sometimes need to report on issues that may cause serious offence to many. You must be sure that a clear public interest outweighs the possible offence.

Seven criteria for deciding when news is in the public interest

1: Exposing or detecting crime.

2: Highlighting significant anti-social behaviour, corruption or injustice.

3: Disclosing significant incompetence or negligence.

4: Uncovering information that allows people to make informed decisions about matters of public importance.

5: Protecting the health and safety of the public.

6: Preventing the public from being misled.

7: Protecting issues of freedom of expression.

Fairness

Be open, honest and straightforward in dealing with contributors, unless there is a clear public interest in doing otherwise. Where allegations are being made, the individuals or organisations concerned should normally be given the right of reply.

Privacy

It is essential in order to exercise your rights of freedom of expression and information that you work within a framework which respects an individual’s privacy and treats them fairly while investigating and establishing matters which it is in the public interest to reveal.

Integrity

Always remain independent of both state and partisan interests. Never endorse or appear to endorse any organisations, products, activities or services.

Sources

Accept information from any source, but know you will need to make a personal decision as to which information is worth considering and which is not. Sources must always be checked, especially when dealing with first-time sources that have never been used before. It is important to protect sources that do not wish to be named.

The post Is your journalism ethical? first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Being impartial means not being prejudiced against any particular person, group, or point of view. All journalists have their own views, and yet, to deliver comprehensive and authoritative coverage of news and current affairs, they must rise above their own personal perspectives. Only by reflecting the diversity of opinion fairly and accurately can we hope to offer a true picture of what is really happening.

Impartiality in news

News is about delivering facts that have been tested, sourced, attributed and proven. Impartiality is essential for robust news coverage. It’s not about being soft and bland. It’s about stripping out the personal, and allowing the audience the dignity of drawing their own conclusions free from any thought pollution injected by the journalist. It means that we must strive to:

• reflect a wide range of opinions
• explore conflicting views
• ensure that no relevant perspective is ignored
• avoid any personal preferences over subject matter or choice of interviewees
• be honest and open about any personal interests/history.

Editorial freedom

In terms of editorial freedom, journalists should be free to:

• cover any subject if there are good editorial reasons for doing so
• report on a specific aspect of an issue
• provide an opportunity for a single view to be expressed
• cover stories that might offend part of the audience.

When we invite people such as academics, industry experts and social support workers to comment on issues, we need to take into account that they may have their own agendas for cooperating with us. They will probably not be offering an impartial perspective. They are the voices who can help us include multiple perspectives.

The choice of who we invite to contribute to our journalism is important. Here we must be fair. Ideally, we should try to find time to include all perspectives, but that might not be realistic.

And it may not be possible to offer equal time for all views. Again, we need to make choices. But with all these challenges we need to be true to ourselves, our colleagues, our editor and, most importantly, to our audience in order to demonstrate that we have been fair and that we have not ignored any significant voices.

We might know someone involved in the story. It could be a friend or a relative. We might have covered a similar story before, and there might be some historical issues that we are aware of that could compromise our ability to report accurately and fairly. In all cases we need to share these involvements with our senior editorial team.

Sometimes we may not be able to see the possible conflict of interests or areas that could lead to accusations that we have not been open and impartial. It’s always best to talk these things through with senior colleagues. Keeping quiet is not an option and certainly never the solution.

Editorial discussions with colleagues will help formulate this policy case by case. A journalist should not struggle alone.

Controversial subjects might involve the coverage of politics, religion, sexual practices, human relationships, and financial dealings. In all cases, we must ensure that a wide range of views and perspectives is aired.

Opinion and fact

We also need to ensure that opinion is clearly distinguished from fact. We might also need to ensure that some views are reflected in our output, even if we find them repulsive. We have a duty to inform the public debate regardless of our own personal point of view and preferences.

When our own media organisation becomes the story, perhaps bad financial news, a sacking, a drugs scandal, poor ratings, etc, we need to ensure that we are prepared to report on news affecting us as we would on news affecting others.

Balanced reporting

Sometimes journalists talk about offering ‘balanced’ reporting. That is not realistic. Life is not balanced and nor is the journalism that reports on life.

It might be that a story is so one-sided that to try to offer so-called ‘balance’ makes a mockery of the report. In such cases, we should aim to offer other perspectives later in the programme or in a later bulletin. We can ensure we offer all sides a chance to air their views in our online coverage.

Personal views offering one side of a story can often add fresh public understanding of an issue and encourage debate. These can include the views of victims and those who feel that they, or others, have been wronged. Such personal views can be highly partial. In such cases, it is important we make it clear to the audience that the views being expressed offer one side only.

Alternative points of view

For those involved in broadcasting there is a need to try to find alternative points of view within the same programme strand or within the next bulletin. In all cases we must:

• retain a respect for factual accuracy
• fairly represent opposing points of view except when inappropriate, defamatory or incendiary
• provide an opportunity to reply
• ensure that a sufficiently broad range of views and perspectives is included
• ensure that these are broadcast in similar output, measure, and time of day.

With online debates, we need to protect the audience from being led to believe that the views being discussed are endorsed by our media organisation. To do so we must:

• not endorse or support any personal views or campaigns
• make a clear distinction between our content and that created by the audience
• make clear what resources we are providing.

Take a look at these other modules on Media Helping Media to help you keep your journalism up to the highest standards.

False equivalence and false balance

Unconscious bias and its impact on journalism

Accuracy in journalism

The post Impartiality in journalism first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Media Helping Media has produced a set of suggested ethical guidelines for video and photojournalists following a request from a user. Media Helping Media often produces custom-made training modules free of charge. The following tips are based on commonly accepted editorial values adopted by most mainstream media.

Accuracy

• Keep an accurate record of all you shoot including time, date, location, circumstances and details of all the parties involved in the event you are covering.
• The research for the story behind the images you are shooting should be well-sourced, supported by strong evidence, examined and tested, clear and unambiguous.
• Don’t just go for the shocking, sad and emotionally charged images; to do so might exploit the victims and fail to uncover the cause of the distress.
• Never accept what you are told at face value; always check every detail with two independent sources.
• Always be aware that there will be those who will want to set up an event for their own purposes; be wary if you are offered an amazing photo opportunity.
• Be sure that what you photograph reflects the true situation accurately and is not a distortion of reality; on the other hand, never ignore the one-off that could reveal an aspect of neglect or harm that has so far gone unnoticed.
• You don’t need to have the whole story behind what you see, but you do need to be totally open, honest and transparent about what you know and what you don’t know.
• Never follow the pack; they may be being led and fed by those with ulterior motives.
• Build your own trusted contacts so that you are able to distinguish between fact and spin.
• Be careful when filming an incident or a subject when you are not culturally familiar with the background and circumstances; what may seem shocking to you may only reflect one element of a complex story.
• Don’t crop or edit beyond what is technically necessary to display the image; you could distort more than the picture – you will know instinctively when you have crossed the line between editing and manipulation.
• Never stage-manage a shoot to hype up the story; your job is to report what has actually happened.
• Check this site’s editorial guidelines on accuracy.

Impartiality

• Be careful when filming topics about which you are passionately concerned; you could lose your objectivity and do more harm than good.
• If you have a personal interest in covering an event, make that absolutely clear in the text that accompanies your work.
• Aim to offer all sides of the story in context and in a way that enables the audience to reach a reasoned and informed conclusion.
• Your only motivation should be to inform the public debate and shine a light on wrongdoing and abuse.
• Being impartial and objective means not being prejudiced but being fair and accurate; be sure to recognise when you are getting carried away.
• Always rise above your own personal perspective to try to see a story from other points of view; otherwise your work is likely to be one-sided and limited in scope value.
• Ensure that you reflect a wide range of opinions through your camera lens, and be prepared to explore conflicting views so that no significant point of view is left out.
• Check this site’s editorial guidelines on impartiality.

Taste & decency and offence

• Do not be afraid of offending if the information you are covering is in the public interest.
• Avoid gratuitous imagery that shocks rather than enhances the understanding of the audience; you are not there to sensationalise or impress.
• Check this site’s editorial guidelines on offence.

Privacy and consent

• Respect a person’s privacy, especially the vulnerable; their situation should not be seen as a rung on your career ladder.
• Ensure that those you are filming are aware of how, where, and when the images are going to be used. If they are to be used online as well as in print or broadcast ensure that those being filmed understand that the images will be searchable forever.
• Check this site’s editorial guidelines on privacy.

Integrity

• Never expose someone to ridicule and humiliation; they have to live with the fallout the photographs and images will bring, whereas you may have moved on to the next story and suffer no consequences.
• You are working as a video/photo journalist to inform the public debate, not for your own glory or to try to make yourself look good.
• Never expose a subject to danger in order to improve the shot; take what is natural, warts and all.
• Never take payment, promises, or favours in return for covering an event in a certain way or submitting a photograph that serves a cause.
• Check this site’s editorial guidelines on integrity.

The post Photojournalism and ethics first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Journalists face a difficult balancing act. They must respect privacy, but they must also be rigorous and robust in their investigations into issues that are in the public interest. This will mean that in some cases it will be necessary for a journalist to carry out an investigation that interferes with someone’s privacy.

Such cases could include:

• crime and anti-social behaviour
• corruption or injustice
• incompetence or neglect

The most important rule is that we must treat people fairly and with respect. We must also be clear about our own motives. We must have no personal interest in an investigation that invades a person’s privacy. The only justification is that it is in the public interest and we are genuinely trying to expose wrongdoing.

What does privacy cover?

Privacy covers anything that a person might reasonably expect to keep from becoming public knowledge. It could include some facts that are known by some, but not by all. There will also be cases where a person in the public eye, who is in a public place, can expect to have their privacy protected. Such cases might be where they are in a clinic or hospital receiving treatment.

Submitted material

Increasingly, journalists are using user-generated content (UGC). This is where members of the public record video, sound or still images and either share them with media organisations, or on social media where the journalist can download and reuse the material.

This does not mean that journalists can ignore their editorial principles, and it raises important editorial issues.

For example, if material is in the public domain and everyone is talking about it yet we ignore it, we might be seen as missing out on an important element of a news story and failing to inform our users. Such situations need careful editorial consideration.

Care needs to be taken with submitted material, particularly that taken from security cameras, webcams, video cameras and mobile phones.

It’s unlikely that we will be able to verify all contributed material as being genuine. Many respected news organisations stipulate that material has to be verified by two independent sources. This might not be possible with contributed material. In that case, an editorial decision needs to be made about whether to use the material or not.

Clear labelling is a way around this if we feel that the material is justified, but we need to be careful about displaying material that could compromise our editorial values and those of the news organisation we work for.

Reliability, trust, honesty, fairness and accuracy are hard-won values and we must protect these. If your audience sees material that leads them to believe that you have moved away from such values, you might lose their trust.

Judge and jury

A journalist’s job is to report facts and inform the public debate so that people can make educated choices. We are not the judge and jury regarding what is right and wrong in the communities we serve.

Journalists have a right, and a duty, to investigate stories in the public interest, but they must not consider themselves to be beyond the law. They must also consider the hurt and damage that their digging might cause.

Some feel that an individual’s right to privacy is qualified by their behaviour. If a person is considered to be involved in crime or anti-social behaviour, it could be felt that they have given up their right to privacy because it is more likely to be in the public interest to expose their behaviour. This is not for us to decide.

This is also a delicate area. Events that might be termed by some to be anti-social or unlawful behaviour could, in some cases, be seen by others as an important and legitimate protest against unjust regimes and systems.

If we are asked to stop recording, taking photographs or jotting down notes because of concerns about privacy, we should do so unless it is editorially justified to continue. At that point we need to be absolutely clear about our reasons.

Keeping up with our competition, winning more viewers, or selling more papers are not good enough reasons. The story must inform the public debate and it must be an accurate and fair representation of the known facts.

Even then, the journalist must be sure that they have come to a considered conclusion having weighed all the facts.

Obtaining consent

There are a number of places where journalists should obtain two forms of consent, one to gather the material and the other to broadcast or publish it. These include hospitals, schools or prisons. Journalists should always seek permission from their seniors:

• to use unattended recording equipment without the knowledge of those being recorded
• to record telephone conversations originally intended for background information
• to door-step a potential interviewee without making a prior approach
• to broadcast material recorded by others, such as UGC.

Secret recording

If a journalist intends to make a secret recording, they have to be able to justify the decision on the grounds of there being a clear public interest.

It is sometimes justified if it is likely to gather evidence or behaviour that the audience would otherwise not see and hear. Justifications for secret recordings could include:

• where there is evidence that there is an intention to commit an offence
• where an open approach would be unlikely to succeed
• gathering evidence
• consumer, social or scientific research in the public interest.

In all cases, the material gathered should be a fair and accurate representation of what has happened. There is also an obligation on the journalist to seek retrospective consent and, in some cases, obscure some identities. Secret recording could include:

• the use of hidden cameras and microphones
• long-range audio-video equipment
• small video cameras
• the use of drone cameras
• mobile phone cameras
• concealed radio microphones
• phone calls
• continuing to record after the interview is over.

If you are intending to carry out a secret recording, make sure that your editor has approved it. Your news organisation will have a procedure. Ensure that you comply. It will probably involve:

• senior editorial approval and signed documents
• a clear declaration as to why the action is in the public interest
• a statement as to how the material is to be used
• an accurate log of what has taken place
• a certificate or licence if legally required
• a log of what is to be broadcast and what will not be broadcast
• an honest declaration of any deception that was required to gather the material.

That final point is extremely important. Journalists are increasingly coming under pressure not to use editing or newsgathering techniques that could be seen as misleading.

If you intend to use any material gathered secretly in the future – such as in a review of the year or referring to a story when following up the item – you will probably have to revisit the whole process, but legal advice will need to be taken.

You will need to be certain that all you propose to do is in the public interest, particularly in:

• a private place where the public does not have access
• where people are receiving medical treatment
• in cases of grief and extreme stress.

It is never justified to go on so-called fishing expeditions where secret recording is carried out on private property in search of crime or anti-social behaviour.

Similarly, you should never leave recording equipment on private property with the intention of gaining evidence of serious crime unless you have first obtained senior editorial sign-off and can justify your actions in terms of public interest.

Electronic note-taking

Many reporters use electronic equipment as part of their note-taking. Some use recorders instead of notebooks, believing it to be a better way of ensuring accuracy in their reporting.

It needs to be made clear at all times that such electronic note-taking is for research and not for broadcast. If you find you have stumbled upon a significant newsworthy clip that is clearly in the public interest to broadcast or publish you will need to discuss this with senior editors and apply the public interest test.

Door-stepping

Sometimes a reporter must be persistent in order to secure an interview. Is it really necessary? What purpose does it serve? What information is likely to be gathered that is not available through other, more conventional, channels?

A journalist has a duty to continue to question their own motives and the value of what they are doing. The general public can expect a certain amount of protection from door-stepping, however public figures, particularly politicians, fall into a different category. They expect questions being thrown at them without prior arrangement and should expect the answers to be published.

If you are convinced that the story you are chasing is in the public interest, you might want to door-step because the person involved has failed to respond to repeated interview requests. But they have a right to refuse. You also have the right to tell the public that this person refused an interview.

Tag-along scenario

A tag-along scenario is when a journalist accompanies officials carrying out their work in order to cover a story that is in the public interest. This could include going along as an observer with police, customs, immigration, or environmental health officers or other public authorities on operational duties.

But you have to be absolutely certain that there is a clear public interest, because this touches on many issues such as privacy, consent and trespass.

If you do tag along on an official visit to a private property, you must make it clear for whom you are reporting and where the material will be used, seek consent from the occupier of the property being raided, and be prepared to leave immediately if consent is refused – unless it has been agreed with your senior editors that there is a clear public interest in the event being covered.

Reporting suffering and distress

The media’s relationship with the public during times of suffering and distress is unpredictable. Journalists may often be sent out to the home of someone who has lost a loved one through criminal activity, an accident, or a bombing. There are a few common reactions.

The first is when you knock at the door and nobody answers, although you can see that there are lights on and you can hear voices. You know that people are in and you know that they don’t want to be disturbed. However, you also know that your news editor is expecting an interview with the relatives of the deceased and a picture of the person who has died.

What do you do? Do you keep knocking until they answer, or give up and head back to the office, respecting their grief and their decision to hide from you? Your news editor will either be totally supportive or will give you a hard time for not getting the interview and picture. You could write a note and put it through the door telling them why you called and why you wanted to talk to them.

The second reaction is that they open the door and set the dogs on you or give you a mouthful of abuse.

The third is that they invite you in, put the kettle on, make a cup of tea, and then show you all their family photographs and let you take some away.

You never know which reaction you will get. It is important that the reporter is sensitive to the suffering people are going through.

Intruding on private grief can hardly be in the public interest. However, here is the contradiction; the media often get criticised for covering grief, but people buy newspapers and turn on their TV expecting to see pictures of those who have died through tragic circumstances.

We can’t win, but we can be professional, consistent, and ensure that all we do is in the public interest.

Graphic material

We always need to consider carefully the editorial justification for portraying graphic material of human suffering and distress. There are no circumstances in which it is justified to show executions, and very few circumstances in which it is justified to broadcast other scenes in which people are being killed. We should also avoid the gratuitous use of close-ups of faces and serious injuries or other violent material.

We must also be global in our news values. If we have editorial rules that state that we don’t publish details of someone who has been killed until the family has been notified, then that rule has to be applied globally. Those in the West who apply such rules to domestic coverage need to ensure that they are consistent when dealing with tragedies in far-flung countries.

The family of a dead person – who can clearly be identified from still pictures or footage – but who is the victim of a killing thousands of miles away, is entitled to the same editorial standards we apply when the incident is on our doorstep.

The passage of time is an important factor when it comes to making judgments about broadcasting graphic material. In the immediate aftermath of an event, the use of more graphic material is normally justified to provide a reasonable illustration of the full horror, although a good script is equally important in conveying the reality of the tragedy.

However, as the story unfolds it may become more difficult to justify its continued use. When it comes to marking the anniversary of an event or when considering it in a contemporary historical context, it may again be editorially justified to re-use it.

We must not add to a person’s suffering and grief. We should not put them under any pressure in order to obtain an interview. We must not harass them with repeated phone calls, emails, text messages or calls at their door, we must not ignore their pleas for us to leave, and we should not follow them if they are trying to avoid/escape us.

Graphic scenes of grief are unlikely to offend or distress those victims and relatives who consented to our recording them, but we need to remember that the images could upset or anger members of the audience. It helps if we set out the context for the images people are about to see in order to prepare them and to help prevent any misunderstandings.

Funerals

Funerals, except in the case of public figures, are usually considered a private affair. We should not attend without the consent of the family. Even in the case of people in the public eye, such as politicians, entertainers and sports personalities, we should also respect a family’s wish to have a private funeral. In such cases there is usually a public event to which the media is invited and often a private event for family only.

Revisiting past events

Responsible media organisations will frequently return to past events in order to put current events in context. As a result, journalists need to ensure that they do all they can to minimise any possible distress to the surviving victims and relatives.

This is particularly important when covering suffering and trauma. This also applies even when material being published or broadcast was previously in the public domain. Where possible, surviving victims or the immediate families of the dead people who are to feature in the programme should be notified in advance.

Archive material

All news organisations use archive material in news coverage. This will include the reuse of scenes of suffering, distress and trauma. We have a duty to ensure that the repeated use of such material, particularly where it features people who can be identified and are still alive, is editorially justified.

We should never use such material to illustrate a general theme. At all times we must be sensitive to the impact such material is likely to have on those who suffered the first time round.

Missing people

The media is often called on to help trace people by broadcasting details of missing people which has been provided by relatives and friends.

We must not give over our journalism to the control of others. It could be that information the family is keen to release could be embarrassing and distressing. It could be that the information is infringing the missing person’s privacy.

We must always take editorial responsibility and consider whether the missing person would want the information published if they are found. We should also respect the fact that not every missing person wishes to be found.

Personal information

A journalist has a responsibility to be totally open and transparent with people about how they intend to use their personal information. This includes details such as telephone numbers and email addresses. We must never pass these on to others without obtaining the owner’s consent.

The post Respecting privacy as a journalist first appeared on Media Helping Media.

The Media Helping Media ethics section is designed to help journalists navigate some of the challenges they might face as they go about their work. The ethics modules are a set of guidelines, not rules. They need to be adapted to ensure that they are regionally and culturally relevant.

The guidelines are for journalists who want to provide robust, searching, issue-led journalism that informs the public debate so that the audience/users/readers can make educated choices.

The modules are based on a desire to deliver editorial excellence that reaches the whole audience regardless of race, religion, nationality, personal preferences and social status, with impartial, fair, accurate and objective information.

The material on this site has nothing to do with producing so-called ‘constructive news’ or ‘positive news’. Subjective value judgements sit uncomfortably with editorial ethics. These modules will help journalists deal with editorial issues affecting life as it really is rather than from a controlled perspective, which, in the view of the author of this piece, is not journalism.

Increasing demand for ethics training

The creation of this section follows a growing demand for training modules to help journalists cope with the editorial and ethical issues surrounding newsgathering and news delivery.

Many people have written editorial guidelines, and a search of the web will throw up dozens of variations. We have chosen to base the Media Helping Media guidelines on the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines. This is mainly because the two founders of Media Helping Media spent many years working at the BBC and have trained thousands of journalists in how to apply these guidelines.

However, the Media Helping Media guidelines are significantly different. Because they are used in training courses in various parts of the world, they are continually adapted and rewritten to reflect regional issues and sensitivities.

The issue in all cases is to deliver editorial excellence based on a clearly defined ethical code of practice that balances the rights to freedom of expression with editorial responsibility.

The modules in this section cover:

• Accuracy: Producing well-sourced information based on solid evidence
• Impartiality: Being fair and open-minded coverage while exploring all significant views
• Fairness: Operating in a transparent, open, honest and fair manner based on straight dealing
• Privacy: Ensuring we respect and never invade personal privacy unless it is in the public interest
• Offence: Delivering challenging journalism that is sensitive to audience expectations
• Integrity: Dealing with groups keen to use, manipulate or mould the media for their own advantage
• Interactivity: Engaging the audience in our output in order to ensure that we reflect public opinion
• Legal: Avoiding the courts while continuing to inform the public debate.

Check our ethics section for the full list of training modules.

The post Why editorial ethics are important first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Rigorous, robust and searching journalism will inevitably offend parts of the audience. This is particularly true with global broadcasters who aim to reflect world affairs as they are, and in doing so cover all aspects of human experience.

Journalists must ensure that the material they use in coverage has a clear editorial purpose. Where that material is likely to offend, there need to be clear warnings of what is coming up.

When offence silences news

However, journalists need to be careful that offence is not used to prevent them from digging for news. Just because someone is offended doesn’t mean that the topic should not be investigated.

Television can observe a watershed – this is a time set when children are expected to be in bed and material which is more graphic and possibly shocking and offensive can be broadcast – in some countries that is set at 9pm. However, many broadcasters have catch-up services, and content may easily be watched at any time via a suitably equipped TV.

This means that anything age-inappropriate should be labelled as such, and the same goes for online platforms, where content may be viewed at any time of the day around the world.

Violence

The vulnerable, especially children, can be upset by the portrayal of violence, whether real or fictional. Such content must be clearly labelled. However, we must not shirk from reporting about and showing the full impact of a story where real life violence, or its aftermath, is an integral part. In such cases we need to strike a balance between the demands of accuracy and the dangers of causing distress. Editorial judgement needs to be used in the following cases:

• violence in places normally regarded as safe, such as the family home, hospitals and schools
• unusual or sadistic methods of inflicting pain, injury or death
• incidents where women and children are the victims
• violence without showing the effect on the victim or the consequences for the perpetrator
• sexual violence
• suicide, attempted suicide or self-harm.

We should never be seen to condone or glamourise violence or antisocial behaviour.

Sex

Journalists have a responsibility to ensure that all material exploring sexual issues is treated sensitively and is editorially justified. This could include publishing links to relevant websites or the phone numbers of authoritative helplines. However we need always to be aware of who is running the helplines and whether they are genuine organisations or not.

Language

Judgments about the use of offensive language must be taken regarding the tone and context of the output. Different words cause different degrees of offence in different parts of the world. Language that causes most offence includes:

• sexual swear words
• terms of racist abuse
• terms of sexual and sexist abuse or abuse referring to sexuality
• pejorative terms relating to illness or disabilities
• casual or derogatory use of names considered holy by some
• the use of religious words in combination with other offensive language.

Religion and politics

Some will try to limit freedom of expression, and in turn media freedom, by claiming that a journalistic investigation offends their religious beliefs. Here, a clear line needs to be drawn.

You can offend what people are such as their size, race, sexual preference etc, because that is what the person is, but it is harder to justify having caused offence when it relates to what people think, such as their beliefs, political persuasions etc.

In all cases, be careful not to be too ready to give up the precious and hard-fought fundamentals of media freedom just because it upsets someone’s religious or political beliefs.

Portrayal

A media organisation should aim to reflect the needs, concerns and issues affecting all the people and cultures in its audience.

There will be times when the material we publish or broadcast will reflect the prejudices and disadvantages that exist in society, however journalists must not be seen to perpetuate any injustice.

In all cases they should avoid offensive or stereotypical assumptions. People should not be labelled in terms of a disability or sexual orientation unless it is editorially justified – for example, the information is part of the story.

Alcohol, smoking and drugs

It is never editorially justified to encourage, glamourise or condone the use of illegal substances.

Journalists need to take particular care when the item is likely to be seen by children. We also need to make sure that all the legal and social aspects of the issue are made clear.

Suicide and self-harm

Suicide, attempted suicide and self-harm should be portrayed with great sensitivity.

Care must be taken to avoid describing or showing methods in any great detail. The term “commit suicide” is considered offensive by some people. Some prefer the terms “took his own life” or “killed herself”. Again, we need to be careful that the vulnerable, particularly children, are not influenced.

Tragic events

Coverage of the aftermath of a tragic event such as the anniversaries of rail crashes, bomb blasts or child abductions need considerable sensitivity.

We need to balance the news justification with the likely personal suffering of survivors and relatives of victims.

Children

Children and young people need help making sense of the world in which they live. The challenge for journalists and programme makers is to ensure that they inform without leading or corrupting.

Output aimed at the young needs to be challenging, educative, enjoyable and interesting.

The post Offence and journalism first appeared on Media Helping Media.

News journalism is about the assembly and publication or broadcast of information which has been thoroughly checked to ensure it is factual and accurate.

That information must be supported by strong evidence, and it must be clear and unambiguous. There can be no room for mistakes or misunderstanding.

A news journalist’s job is to uncover facts that can be verified and attributed to trusted sources. They should not deal in rumour or speculation. Nor should they add their own opinions or feelings when they are compiling their news reports. Accuracy is an essential part of that process.

Accuracy comes ahead of speed. If you are not sure, then don’t publish until you are. Being first and wrong is not a model to aim for. Being right and always reliable is.

Journalists need to be totally transparent in declaring what they know and what they don’t know. Those who trust you and your news organisation will be prepared to wait for your version. In fact they might use your version of events to check whether a hastily prepared item by another news organisation has any truth in it.

Most major news organisations require their journalists to:

• have first-hand sources, not just talk to the same people as everyone else
• double-check all the facts that appear in their news reports include supporting evidence or sources
• validate the information submitted
• confirm that something has happened by having two reliable and independent sources
• include corroboration for any claims or allegations made.

Journalism involves research. A reporter working on a story might need to read archived news stories to find out more about the background to an event. But they can’t afford to copy what they see. The words might look convincing, but that doesn’t make them true.

Unless you know for certain that what you are reading is an accurate record of what has happened you should not refer to it. Even archive material must be treated with the same scepticism as is applied to a current news story.

Nothing must be included until it has been verified. If you are forced to include material that you have been unable to check yourself you must qualify that information by attributing it to a source. In such cases you would use words such as “according to” so that those consuming your news are not left believing that you are saying it is true. It is also worth adding that you have not been able to verify the information given, if that is the case.

Keeping notes and records

Most reporters are given a notebook when they start work for the first time and told to keep it safe and never throw it away. This is because you never know when you might have to refer to your notes as evidence in a legal case.

Accurate note-taking is essential. The usual rule is that notes must not only be accurate, they must also be contemporaneous. That means that you need to have spoken to reliable sources at the time an incident happened rather than jot down information from memory at a later date.

You will also need to keep records of the research you carried out for your report. All this information should all be contained in your notebook, or, in the case of those using computers, in folders and files. And always keep a track of all bookmarks and email correspondence relating to your stories.

However, where anonymity has been requested or where it is essential, make sure that your records do not identify those you have interviewed.

Names, numbers, and dates

Accuracy is essential when you are dealing with names, numbers, and dates. You must get the spelling of a person’s name right if you are to refer to them in the story. If you are referring to their age, this has to be right, too. If you are writing about the number of people attending a meeting you should not guess, but you should seek out someone who might know, such as the event organiser, and quote them.

If you are writing about an incident that has occurred you must get the day and date right, as well as the street name where it happened. This is not just a matter of being accurate, it’s also a matter of being legally safe. If a reporter produces a story with a misspelt name of someone living at the wrong address who is said to have been involved in an incident on the wrong day, this could be a legal minefield for the reporter and the news organisation they work for.

Fake news and social media

Accuracy is also important because of the growth in fake news. The speed at which fake news can spread has been increased by the growth in social media – and the dependency of many in the audience on outlets such as Twitter and Facebook for their primary source of news.

The danger of sharing news on social media is the separation of the original source from the ongoing conversation. Facebook is structured so that the more people add their comments, the more distant the original content – factual or fake – becomes from the post being discussed.

Someone might post a valid link to a news story on a trusted news site which is a piece of fact-checked, accurate, fair, objective, and impartial reporting. But what they post as a response is their personal emotional reaction. Then someone else sees that comment and posts their reaction. As they do they might add an anecdote or a piece of gossip. Then someone else comments. And as the comment thread grows longer and longer, the reader is getting further and further from the original source.

And the same is true with Twitter. The longer the thread of comments – many based on an emotional reaction to the previous post and not the original post – the further we get from the original material. That could be a good thing if the original post was fake and contained information that needed to be challenged. But it can be dangerous when the original post was factual and subsequent posts have not challenged those facts with reason, sound evidence and fact-checked information, but have drowned out sensible debate by injecting falsehood.

Unlike the journalist who wrote the original piece, those commenting on social media are rarely bound by editorial ethics – least of all accuracy. This phenomenon is called post-truth – which means the conversation that happens after the information has been published and which is based on emotional reaction rather than factual information. And this is a danger for journalists who are monitoring social media feeds.

Most newsrooms have specialist journalists who monitor the social media feeds. Their job is to find news stories on social media but not to feed off the fake news that is being spread. Many newsrooms have fact-checking departments whose job it is to scrutinise all information being shared on social media or directly by those in power. Many independent fact-checking news sites have sprung up in the last five years. Their job is to ensure accuracy.

Protecting sources

A journalist will often have to turn to anonymous sources as part of their news-gathering. It might be the case that part of the fact-checking process is to find and talk to people who are afraid of being identified for safety or career reasons. If you feel that the information these people have is crucial to the accuracy of your report, and if you can’t find the corroboration to complete the story elsewhere, you might have to agree to anonymity.

If you are considering offering anonymity to an interviewee you must make sure that your editor agrees. There may be reasons that anonymity is not appropriate; this should be a decision for your editor, not you. Including your editor in this process will also help protect you and your sources in the long run.

Anonymity raises some ethical issues about misleading the public. You might agree to any of the following to disguise identity:

• using a voice-over to broadcast what they say
• using blurred images so as not to identify the individuals
• hiding locations so that those seeking anonymity can’t be traced
• avoiding using real names and not giving an age range.

These are fine as long as you make it clear that you are using such techniques, and state clearly why you are using them. You must not use any methods that could be seen as a false representation of the truth.

If you are dealing with an anonymous source who is making serious allegations, you will need to decide whether:

• the story is of significant public interest
• the source is credible and reliable
• the source is likely to be in a position to offer accurate information
• there are any legal issues
• anyone’s safety could be at risk
• a response to the allegations can be found.

If you agree to go ahead with the interview, then you need to make clear to the user/audience/reader the conditions under which the material was gathered. You must never mislead the audience.

Reconstruction and archive material

If you can get by without staging a reconstruction, try to do so. Reconstructions can confuse the audience. If you do create a reconstruction, it needs to be as accurate as possible. If you are using archive material always make clear where it is from, when the archived event happened and the circumstances surrounding it. Never use archive material to represent a current event without labelling it as such. To neglect to do so would be inaccurate.

Misleading the audience

The concern over misleading the audience extends to some everyday journalistic practices that many in the profession consider to be normal. These mostly apply to broadcast journalism and include:

• rephrasing questions after the interview ends
• retrospectively including pictures of the interviewer nodding, smiling or frowning in response to answers given
• inserting general shots of items in the room, or hand movements to cover edits made in the interview
• set-up shots of the interviewee and interviewer which are used to lead into the interview

All these can be fairly innocent editing techniques used by broadcast media to make a long and sometimes boring interview more digestible, however they can also mislead. Be careful how you use them and try to avoid them.

Third-party material

Always make clear when material has been provided by others. Attribution is essential. Say “according to…” or “it’s being reported by…” and you are covered. However, in contentious issues, your sources need to be representative of the widest opinion base in order to protect your credibility. Sourcing such information is part of your commitment to accuracy.

At times you will want to build a report around statistics. Sometimes those statistics are offered to all news outlets via the wires (news agencies). In that case you must qualify them. Always make clear that there is a margin of error, particularly with trends. It is conceivable that business leaders, politicians and individuals with something to gain will feed you statistics to make their cause look good. They might present them in a way that doesn’t accurately reflect the true story. If you are unable to offer a full analysis of the statistics but feel you should use what you have been told, then you must attribute the information to the source and make clear that it is their view rather than fact.

Admitting mistakes

The willingness to admit mistakes is another part of being accurate. This has become all the more important in the age of online archives, although it has always been the case that mistakes in old newspaper cuttings could be repeated and result in an inaccurate report being circulated again years later. All news organisations should have a correction strategy.

Take a look at these other modules on Media Helping Media to help you keep your journalism up to the highest standards.

False equivalence and false balance

Unconscious bias and its impact on journalism

Impartiality in journalism

The post Accuracy in journalism first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Exploring all sides of an issue

Fairness in journalism means exploring all sides of an issue and reporting the findings accurately.

Members of the public should never be used to exaggerate the importance of a story. As a journalist you have a responsibility to examine your own motives, and ensure that your personal feelings and emotions do not influence what you report, whom you talk to, or determine which elements of the story you highlight.

You also need to think carefully about the language and tone you use to ensure that it doesn’t give an inaccurate and unfair representation of the facts. Your job is to inform the public debate, not manipulate that debate. You are working on behalf of the public, not using them for your own ends.

A journalist should have no motivation other than presenting sourced and verified facts. You should not have a desired outcome – that’s activism. And some would argue that journalism and activism are not compatible. You do your job regardless of the outcome.

Right of reply

You should always offer the right of reply when making allegations. However, there will be some cases where this rule needs to be checked with senior editorial colleagues.

If, for example, you uncover information that you consider to be in the public interest, and which involves serious allegations against an individual or group, it might not be appropriate to approach those who are the focus of your investigatioin.

This is particularly important if the information could lead to criminal arrest. In most cases, the fact that a person has agreed to be interviewed is sufficient to prove informed consent.

However, care needs to be taken when dealing with young people, the vulnerable, and those who have been recently bereaved or have suffered from trauma.

Those you are going to quote must be told when the material will be used, in what context, and how the material will be used.

This is particularly important with broadcasters and with any media organisation operating a converged newsroom delivering content to multiple platforms or devices.

It may seem obvious to you that the material will be searchable online and viewed worldwide, but your contributor may not have thought this through, especially if they are under stress. It is only fair to point it out.

If the member of the public is making a significant contribution, on which the whole item or broadcast programme is based, this needs to be made absolutely clear to them. They have a right to know:

• if there is a discussion or debate surrounding their contribution and, if so, the range of views being represented and the likely contributors.
• whether their contribution is live or edited and when it is likely to be broadcast (be careful not to give assurances if the broadcast time could change).
• a broad outline of the way you see the discussion going (your reasons for doing the piece).
• any changes leading up to broadcast or publication.

You do not need to let them see any pre-recorded material, or material that is likely to be published online, even if they are involved. 

You should avoid inviting them to proof-read what you are writing; that could lead to pressure to make changes that are editorially unacceptable. 

If a preview is requested, you need to examine the editorial, legal and ethical reasons for this.

Seeking a response

In cases where there are allegations of wrongdoing, you need to offer a fair opportunity for people to respond to the allegations before broadcast or publication.

When seeking a response, you need to keep accurate records of when, how and where the person was approached, along with their response to the offer.

If the material is for TV and radio, that response needs to be broadcast in the same programme, or at the same time, as the allegation is made. Again, legal reasons might override this.

Editorial independence

Contributors sometimes try to impose conditions before agreeing to take part in interviews. You must retain editorial control and not enter into any agreement that stops you asking the questions your audience would expect you to pose.

It is unlikely that it would ever be appropriate to broadcast or publish an interview in which the contributor sets out what she or he is prepared to be interviewed about. However, if such a case arises, it must be made clear to the audience the conditions that were set in order to obtain the interview.

The contributor must also be told that you will be making this clear before and after the interview is aired/published. They need to understand that journalists deal with news, and are not public relations (PR) consultants offering a PR platform.

In some cases, people who have already been interviewed will decide to withdraw their consent. You should consider their objections, but whether you use the material or not is an editorial decision and must be based on whether it is in the public interest to publish the material.

You should be open to signing agreements for access to premises or to talk to staff, but you must examine the agreements closely to ensure that they do not involve the surrendering of editorial control. To do so would compromise your editorial integrity.

The same is true of indemnity forms. In all cases, if unacceptable conditions are imposed, you should withdraw from the project.

You should never ask contributors to expose themselves to health and safety risks, and they must make clear in writing that they recognise and accept any risks.

Note: This site was been given permission to use and adapt elements of the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines in these short editorial ethics modules. They have been updated to reflect changing international, regional and cultural variations.

Related modules

Integrity and journalism

Editorial integrity – scenario

Interviewing integrity – scenario

The post Fairness in journalism first appeared on Media Helping Media.

Integrity is essential if a journalist wants to investigate issues thoroughly in order to find the truth. A journalist with integrity can’t be bought, swayed, or influenced. They do not accept favours, bribes, or promises. They are free from any chains that could prevent them from shining a light in dark places, digging where others don’t, and holding the powerful to account. In editorial terms it means the following:

• not to sell your services for financial reward other than the salary or fee you receive from your employer.
• not to take money from a person, group or organisation in return for ensuring that their story is covered by your news organisation.
• not to promote a story based on any personal, group, or partisan interests.
• not to endorse or appear to endorse any organisation, its products, activities or services.
• not to promote commercial products or services.
• not to promote your own media organisation.

Promotional stories

News releases arrive in the newsroom every day promoting a product or a company, often these are disguised as news items, when, clearly, they are advertising material. We must:

• retain all editorial control of any material that we uncover, or which is given to us by others, and ensure that we have the final say in how it is used or not used.
• when choosing which stories to cover we must do so on the basis of our own independent editorial justification, and we need to be able to defend those decisions if challenged.
• always be aware that some people contributing material will be doing so in order to influence our editorial output
• be able to justify – if we feel we need to name a product, service or organisation in our output – that the decision was required in order to inform the public debate properly and in full.

Product placement

A journalist must never include a product or service in sound, vision or print in return for cash, services or any consideration in kind. We must:

• ensure that references to trade names, brand names and slogans are clearly editorially justified.
• never use material from advertising campaigns or promotions without revealing the source and making clear, through our script, why the material was used.
• not linger on brand names or logos and use verbal references sparingly unless there are strong journalistic reasons for repeated references to a brand.
• never accept free or reduced-cost products or services from those whose brands are featuring in our output.

Free material and gifts

It is extremely dangerous for a journalist to take gifts. There will always be a price to pay at some future date. The best advice is to say no. A journalist should always pay for their own travel and accommodation. There may be some situations where a producer of a lifestyle programme or section is offered facilities to sample so that they can report on them, in such cases the following rules should apply:

• keep accurate records of what has been accepted.
• never guarantee that any product or service will be featured.
• never guarantee the approach that will be taken in dealing with the product or service.
• always inform suppliers that they cannot refer to your news organisation in selling their products.
• give on-air, online or in-print credits only if clearly editorially justified.
• never offer suppliers any editorial say or influence in the programme.
• never offer them a preview of it with a view to them being able to make changes.

Media trips

It is best not to accept expenses-paid trips, unless they are the only way to cover the story – for example, such a case might be the first flight of a new airline service.

Undue prominence

Be careful where a guest on a broadcast programme has a particular product to push, such as a book, a new piece of music, a show or a film. It is fine to discuss the editorial issues, but you need to ensure that they are not taking advantage of you because you are including them in your programme.

Online links

When creating links to articles online, make sure that you link only to material that adds value and is not simply promoting a product. Lazy links go to home pages, thought-through links explain more about the subject. Ensure that links lead to material that explains more about the topic being mentioned so that those using your service will be better informed.

You must never include a link to a commercial site in return for cash, services or any other consideration in kind. All links must be editorially justified and should lead to sites which are:

• clearly relevant to the content of the page where the link is placed
• normally free to access
• normally factually accurate

We must never give the impression that we are endorsing a commercial product or service.

Conflict of interest

There must never be any suggestion that personal, commercial, business, financial or other interests have influenced your news organisation’s editorial decisions. Presenters, reporters, producers, editors, researchers and managers are all affected. The higher someone’s level of editorial responsibility, the greater the need to avoid any possible conflicts of interest. Typical conflicts of interest for journalists include:

• writing for another news organisation
• public speaking/public appearances
• delivering media public relations training
• connections to charities and campaigning organisations
• taking part in political activities
• hospitality and personal benefits
• being an active member of a political party
• being an activist in a campaign organisation
• financial and business interests.

Journalists must declare all these to their senior editorial managers if they feel that there is a conflict of interest that could damage the news organisation’s integrity.

Social action

Journalists should not be seen to campaign about social issues, your job is to report about them, not be part of them. Journalists are free to have their own opinions, but these must not influence your journalistic work. You must remain impartial. This is particularly important where:

• social action programmes or campaigns coincide with a government campaign or lobbying initiative
• The output could be seen to embrace the agenda of a particular campaign group.

Charities

The same is true with charities. Many are competing. As a journalist, you will probably have your favourites. This must never influence your story choice or story treatment. It is healthy to declare charitable interests at the earliest opportunity. Personal interests must never influence story choice or story treatment. A media organisation will work with charities in a number of ways:

• broadcasting/publishing appeals
• mounting fundraising appeals
• reflecting the work of charities in the editorial output
• as partners in social action or awareness campaigns.

However, for every charity doing good there is likely to be another competing in that space. Also, don’t get too close; you may end up covering a story about wrongdoing involving a charity, and you need to be free to examine all issues without fear of being compromised.

External relationships

When entering into an external relationship, journalists must ensure that:

• editorial impartiality and integrity are not compromised and that you control all editorial output.
• the choice of partners is editorially justified and will not bring the media organisation into disrepute.
• no money or other services are accepted in exchange for broadcast coverage or publicity.
• you work with a range of organisations and do not unduly favour one above another
• you do not promote or appear to endorse other organisations, products, services, views or opinions.

Related training scenario

Journalistic integrity – scenario

The post Integrity and journalism first appeared on Media Helping Media.