Journalistic Ethics
Doing the Right Thing
Morals vs. Ethics
• Morals: the standards of behaviour in
relation to others by which people are judged
• Ethics: the system of beliefs that supports a
particular view of morality
LaRue Hosmer, The Ethics of Management, 2005
What is the spj?
• SPJ is Society of Professional Journalists
• Goals of a journalist
– Seek truth and report it
– Minimize harm
– Act independently
– Be accountable and transparent
• Code of Ethics
– Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a
journalist’s credibility
– See entire Code of Ethics here
SPJ: Seek Truth and Report It
• Ethical journalism should be accurate and
fair. Journalists should be honest and
courageous in gathering, reporting and
interpreting information.
– Take responsibility for accuracy of work
– Give voice to the voiceless
– Never plagiarize
q8blend.com
SPJ: Minimize Harm
• Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects,
colleagues and members of the public as
human beings deserving of respect.
– Balance the need for the public’s right to know
against potential harm or discomfort
motherjones.com
SPJ: Minimize Harm
– Recognize that private people
have a greater right to
control information than
public figures
SPJ: Minimize Harm
• Balance a criminal suspect’s right to a fair
trial with the public’s right to be informed
yourblackworld.net
SPJ: Act Independently
• The highest and primary obligation of
ethical journalism is to serve the public
– Avoid conflicts of interest
– Refuse gifts or favors that compromise
journalistic integrity
– Deny special treatment to advertisers
SPJ: Be Accountable
• Ethical journalism means taking
responsibility for one's work and explaining
one’s decisions to the public
– Admit mistakes and correct them quickly
– Encourage discussion from the public to voice
grievances
– Abide by the same standards in which others are
held
“An article on Monday misstated the
worth of the companies involved…”
Assignment
• Choose one of the scenarios and write a short essay regarding how you
would respond ethically.
• Scenario 1 The 21-year-old son of a prominent politician has been
charged with possession of drugs. Do you include her name in the story
about her son?
• Scenario 2 You are interviewing a doctor about a recent disease outbreak
when he is called away. As he leaves he puts a file regarding the disease
on the coffee table. He has not discussed the contents of the file with
you. Do you look in the folder?
• Scenario 3 A man smuggles documents out of his company that show
that the company has been falsifying its accounting processes. He
refuses to give you his name or tell you how he got the documents. Do
you run the story?
• Save the essay on your H drive in your “Journalism” subfolder entitled
[your last name] ethics and submit to Mrs. J via Google Drive by
midnight on Tuesday, September 22, 2015