Five Core Principles of Journalism

The core principles of ethical journalism set out below provide an excellent base
for everyone who aspires to launch themselves into the public information
sphere to show responsibility in how they use information.
There are hundreds of codes of conduct, charters and statements made by media
and professional groups outlining the principles, values and obligations of the
craft of journalism.
Most focus on five common themes:

1. Truth and Accuracy

Journalists cannot always guarantee ‘truth’, but getting the facts right is the
cardinal principle of journalism. We should always strive for accuracy, give all
the relevant facts we have and ensure that they have been checked. When we
cannot corroborate information we should say so.

2. Independence
Journalists must be independent voices; we should not act, formally or
informally, on behalf of special interests whether political, corporate or cultural.
We should declare to our editors – or the audience – any of our political
affiliations, financial arrangements or other personal information that might
constitute a conflict of interest.

3. Fairness and Impartiality

Most stories have at least two sides. While there is no obligation to present
every side in every piece, stories should be balanced and add context.
Objectivity is not always possible, and may not always be desirable (in the face
for example of brutality or inhumanity), but impartial reporting builds trust and
confidence.

4. Humanity
Journalists should do no harm. What we publish or broadcast may be hurtful,
but we should be aware of the impact of our words and images on the lives of
others.
5. Accountability
A sure sign of professionalism and responsible journalism is the ability to hold
ourselves accountable. When we commit errors we must correct them and our
expressions of regret must be sincere not cynical. We listen to the concerns of
our audience. We may not change what readers write or say but we will always
provide remedies when we are unfair

Ethical Journalism: The Gateway to Press Freedom and

Democracy
Aidan White
02/05/2015

media freedom

ethical reporting

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, Aidan White. Director of the Ethical Journalism Network,
writes for MC Online.
This year’s World Press Freedom Day on May 3 takes place in the wake of a tsunami of media
stories that focus on human tragedy but which also underline the importance of good journalism in
our daily lives.

The earthquake in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains, the ordeal of hundreds of migrants
drowning in the Mediterranean, the hardship being experienced by millions displaced by war in the
Middle East, and the memories of genocide a hundred years ago in Ottoman Turkey are all stories
we need to know about.

They remind us why we need access to reliable information and why informed, timely and stylish
journalism is more important than ever.

Its importance is highlighted by how seriously the enemies of truth and transparency take the fight to
journalists. Each year hundreds of reporters and editors are attacked and many killed by groups that
aim to silence dissident, opposing voices or who want to censor information that will expose
corruption or wrongdoing.

Journalists and media in the Western Balkans are no strangers to these threats. More than 25 years
ago media were recruited as foot soldiers in the political and military struggles that followed the
collapse of communism.

Scores of journalists were killed. Many media became the mouthpiece for unscrupulous propaganda
for nationalism and incitement to intense hatred and violence.
During these years I criss-crossed the region: to Sarajevo during the siege to talk media solidarity
with journalists and media ion all sides; to Zagreb to talk to President Tudjman about his war
propaganda and control of the press; to Belgrade during the NATO bombardment to protest at the
targeting of media and journalists.

The struggle for press freedom in these days was a matter of life and death and the aim was not just
to curb the spread of rumour, fear and ignorance, but to create a space for journalism as an
instrument for peace and dialogue.

Today the bullets have stopped flying, but the threats to press freedom are no less intense. Some
media are still fighting an information war. The threats of political interference, self-censorship and
propaganda remain, but the situation may have got worse.

While there is less open violence and less direct censorship of journalists, media still
remaininstruments of political and commercial power.

In many countries radio, television and newspapers have become trophy possessions for corporate
oligarchs and members of the political elite.

This is particularly a crisis in the Western Balkans, as revealed in the Ethical Journalism Network’s
report Untold Stories, published in April 2015. In a range of countries with a shared and painful history,
the report reveals how media corruption hinders attempts to break free from the legacy of war,
censorship and political control during decades of communist rule.
Some 20 years ago with the end of the Cold War, media across Europe were thrust into the frontline
of a campaign for democracy and pluralism and the creation of a new European political consensus
around an enlarged European Union.

It’s a battle still being fought and in less promising conditions. The European project is weaker and
so is journalism.

Today people are overwhelmed by information – much of it trivia, celebrity-based, and full of shallow
forms of infotainment driven by social networks and internet players.

Everywhere, corporate and government spin-doctors use the worldwide web to spy on people, either
to sell their products or to spread their propaganda.

Nevertheless, people still turn to journalism when they are looking for reliable information – the top
news sites on the worldwide web remain the traditional trusted brands of media.

But even if journalism is still needed as a public gateway to responsible communications it continues
to suffer, often from self-inflicted wounds. Some owners and editors, struggling in the midst of a
financial crisis, are ready to sacrifice ethical standards to keep their business alive.
And it’s not just the media losing money who are to blame. Even the biggest and most powerful
media are guilty. Recently, Britain’s leading tabloid newspaper, the Sun, (one of the biggest
newspapers in Europe) was roasted by the United Nations human rights chief for describing
migrants as “cockroaches” in a piece of hateful journalism which he said smacked of anti-Semitic
Nazi propaganda.

In the midst of media coverage of the recent tragedies suffered by hundreds of migrants drowning off
the coast of Italy, a Sun columnist wrote:“I don’t care. Show me pictures of coffins, show me bodies
floating in water, play violins and show me skinny people looking sad. I still don’t care….these
migrants are like cockroaches. They might look a bit ‘Bob Geldof’s Ethiopia circa 1984’, but they are
built to survive a nuclear bomb. They are survivors.” This incendiary piece appeared only hours
before another migrant ship sank off the coast of Libya killing some 800 people and it prompted
more than 300,000 online protests. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
said such media-inspired hatred, (particularly coming from a newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch
one of the world’s leading media moguls) does damage far beyond the shores of the United
Kingdom.

Zeid points a finger at global media accusing them of fomenting intolerance by their casual and
dangerous discrimination against vulnerable minorities.

“History has shown us time and again the dangers of demonising foreigners and minorities,” he
warns, “and it is extraordinary and deeply shameful to see these types of tactics being used in a
variety of countries, simply because racism and xenophobia are so easy to arouse in order to win
votes or sell newspapers.”

He is not wrong. This world press freedom day should not only be about keeping journalists safe and
stopping unscrupulous crooks and trigger-happy politicians from targeting media, but it should be
about helping journalism to recover its ethical base.

And that is best delivered through the prism of journalistic ethics – fact-based communications;
humanity in our reporting; transparency and fairness; and accountability for the work we do.