Download Ethics


A set of moral principles

A theory or system of moral values

Are ethics and morals different?
› Discuss

Society of Professional Journalists
› Seek truth and report it
› Minimize harm
› Act independently
› Be accountable
Avoid inadvertent error
 Seek out all sides of story (not just two)
 Identify sources when feasible
 Never plagiarize
 Examine own cultural values and impact
they may have
 Help ensure government openness
 Question sources

Show compassion
 Be sensitive
 Don’t be arrogant
 Use good taste
 Be cautious
 Be balances
 Be judicious

Avoid perceived or real conflicts of
interest
 Refuse gifts
 Disclose unavoidable conflicts
 Hold those in power accountable
 Resist pressure from advertisers to distort
news
 Be wary of favors

Invite public comment
 Admit mistakes and correct them
promptly
 Expose unethical practices

Your ethics might be different than mine
 That’s OK (in some cases)
 Some rules apply universally
 Everyone has to come up with his or her
own moral compass
 Big ethical breaches grow from small
ones (see later)


You finish a two-hour interview with the
mayor about all the changes she wants
to make to improve the city. She lets it
slip that she thinks the police chief has
bungled efforts to curb crime. After the
interview, she asks you not to use that….

You keep getting beaten by your
counterpart at a competing news
organization. Your boss has warned this
must stop. You are about to file your story
on a triple homicide, and you notice
your competitor has details online that
you don’t have. What do you do …

You are covering a homicide, and you
find out that three young children (under
age 5) witnessed the homicide. The
mother of the children agrees to have
the children photographed, and agrees
to let you interview the children. The
suspect is still at large …