Did you know that Journalism is actually a Profession, that requires a long course of study and imposes a Code of Ethics and set of Standards & Practices on its practitioners, who are called upon to find and report the Truth?
Did you know that not every writer that works for a Newspaper or publication, and not every commentator or personality that appears on Television is actually a Journalist?
Do you know the difference between a true Journalist and a “commentator” or “personality” on TV? It is important to recognize the difference, because the TV “Personality” or “Commentator” may not be bound by the same Standards of Professional Ethics that govern professional Journalists.
Here is a short summary of some of the special Ethical Duties that apply to a true Journalist, as imposed by The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), a professional organization for journalists that is an authority in journalistic ethics:
- Seek Truth and Report It: Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
- Minimize Harm: Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.
- Act Independently: The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public.
- Be Accountable and Transparent: Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public.
Journalists have been called “the fourth branch of government,” meaning they are the watchdogs of society and have a duty to inform the public on situations they did not have in-depth or prior knowledge of. Without ethical journalistic practices, we [those reporting news and information] are doing an injustice to society and could potentially damage our own reputation and the reputation of journalism as a whole.”
– From “Journalistic Ethics: The four principles and the impact they can have,” by Perry Cohen, published on Medium.com.
Learn more about the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics that applies to those who are actual Journalists. The SPJ Code of Ethics is found on the website of The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) »
