The history of journalism, or the
development of the gathering and transmitting of news, spans the growth of technology and trade, marked by the
advent of specialized techniques for gathering and disseminating information on
a regular basis that has caused, as one history of journalism surmises, the
steady increase of the scope of news available to us and the speed with which
it is transmitted. Newspapers have always been the primary medium of
journalists since 1700, with magazines added in the 18th century, radio and
television in the 20th century, and the Internet in the 21st century.
Saturday, 18 February 2017
Early Journalism
By 1400, businessmen in Italian and German cities were
compiling hand written chronicles of important news events, and circulating
them to their business connections. The idea of using a printing press for this
material first appeared in Germany around 1600. The first gazettes appeared in
German cities, notably the weekly Relation aller Fuernemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien ("Collection of all distinguished and memorable
news") in Strasbourg starting in 1605. The Avisa
Relation oder Zeitung was
published in Wolfenbüttel from 1609, and gazettes soon were
established in Frankfurt (1615), Berlin (1617)
and Hamburg (1618). By 1650, 30 German cities had active gazettes. A
semi-yearly news chronicle, in Latin, the Mercurius
Gallobelgicus, was published at Cologne between 1594 and 1635, but
it was not the model for other publications.
In the following decades, the national governments in Paris and London began printing
official newsletters. In 1622 the first English-language weekly magazine,
"A current of General News" was published and distributed in England
in an 8- to 24-page quarto format.
The first newspaper in France,
the Gazette de France, was established in 1632 by the king's
physician Theophrastus Renaudot (1586-1653), with the patronage of Louis XIII.
All newspapers were subject to prepublication censorship, and served as
instruments of propaganda for the monarchy. Jean Loret is considered to be one of France's first journalists. He
disseminated the weekly news of Parisian society from 1650 until 1665 in verse,
in what he called a gazette
burlesque, assembled in three volumes of La
Muse historique (1650, 1660,
1665).
England
17th Century
The London Gazette, facsimile front page from 3–10 September 1666, reporting
on the Great Fire of London.
The 17th century saw the rise of political pamphleteering
fuelled by the politically contentious times - the English Civil War followed by the Interregnum and Glorious Revolution polarized society along political lines and each party
sought to garner maximum public support by the distribution of pamphlets in the
coffeehouses where people would gather. The Oxford Gazette was printed in 1665 by Muddiman in the middle of the
turmoil of the Great Plague of London and was, strictly speaking, the first periodical to meet
all the qualifications of a true newspaper. It was printed twice a week by
royal authority and was soon renamed the London Gazette. Magazines were also moral tracts inveighing against moral
decadence, notably the Mercurius
Britannicus.
A milestone was reached in 1694; the final lapse of the Licensing Order of 1643 that had been put in place by the Stuart kings put
an end to heavy handed censorship that had previously tried to suppress the
flow of free speech and ideas across society, and allowed writers to criticize
the government freely. From 1694 to the Stamp Act of 1712 the only censure laws forbade treason, seditious
libel and the reporting of Parliamentary proceedings.
Prior to the Glorious Revolution journalism had been a risky line of work. One such victim
was the reckless Benjamin Harris, who was convicted for defaming the King's authority.
Unable to pay the large fine that was imposed on him he was put in prison. He
eventually made his way to America where he founded one of the first newspapers there. After
the Revolution, the new monarch William III, who had been installed by Parliament, was wary of public
opinion and did not try to interfere with the burgeoning press. The growth in
journalism and the increasing freedom the press enjoyed was a symptom of a more
general phenomenon - the development of the party system of government. As the
concept of a parliamentary
opposition became an
acceptable (rather than treasonable) norm, newspapers and editors began to
adopt critical and partisan stances and they soon became an important force in
the political and social affairs of the country.
18th Century
By the beginning of the eighteenth century, Britain was an
increasingly stable and prosperous country with an expanding empire,
technological progress in industry and agriculture and burgeoning trade and
commerce. A new middle class consisting of merchants, traders, entrepreneurs and bankers was
rapidly emerging - educated, literate and increasingly willing to enter the
political discussion and participate in the governance of the country. The
result was a boom in journalism, in periodicals, newspapers and magazines. Writers who had been dependent
on a rich patron in the past were now able to become self-employed by hiring
out their services to the newspapers. The values expressed in this new press
were overwhelmingly consistent with the bourgeois middle class - an emphasis on
the importance of property rights, religious toleration and liberty from Continental-absolutism.
Journalism in the first half of the 18th century produced
many great writers such as Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, Henry Fielding, and Samuel Johnson. Men such as these edited newspapers, or wrote essays for
the popular press on topical issues. Their material was entertaining and
informative and was met with an insatiable demand from ordinary citizens of the
middle class, who were beginning to participate in the flow of ideas and news.
The newspaper was becoming so popular that publishers began
to print daily issues. The first daily newspaper in the world was the Daily Courant, established by Samuel Buckley in 1702 on the streets of
London. The newspaper strictly restricted itself to the publication of news and
facts without opinion pieces, and was able to avoid political interference
through raising revenue by selling advertising space in its columns.
Daniel Defoe's The Storm, a report of the Great Storm of 1703 and regarded as one of the first pieces of modern
journalism.
Defoe in particular is regarded as a pioneer of modern
journalism with his publication The Storm in 1704, which
has been called the first substantial work of modern journalism, as well as the
first account of a hurricane in Britain. It details the events of a terrible
week-long storm that hit London starting Nov 24, 1703, known as the Great Storm of 1703, described by Defoe as "The Greatest, the Longest in
Duration, the widest in Extent, of all the Tempests and Storms that History
gives any Account of since the Beginning of Time."
Defoe used eyewitness accounts by placing newspaper ads
asking readers to submit personal accounts, of which about 60 were selected and
edited by Defoe for the book.[10] This was an innovative method for the time before
journalism that relied on first-hand reports was commonplace.
Richard Steele, influenced by Defoe, set up The Tatler in 1709 as a publication of the news and gossip heard in
London coffeehouses, hence the title. It presented Whiggish views and created
guidelines for middle-class manners, while instructing "these Gentlemen,
for the most part being Persons of strong Zeal, and weak Intellects...what
to think."
Jonathan Swift wrote his greatest satires for The Examiner, often in allegorical form, lampooning the controversies
between the Tories and Whigs. The so-called "Cato Letters," written
by John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon under the pseudonym, "Cato", were
published in the London Journal in the 1720s and discussed the theories of the Commonwealth men such as ideas about liberty, representative government, and
freedom of expression. These letters had a great impact in colonial America and
the nascent republican movement all the way up to the signing of the Declaration
of Independence.
The increasing popularity and influence of newspapers was
unappealing to the government of the day. The first bill in parliament
advocating a tax on newspapers was proposed in 1711. The duty eventually
imposed in 1712 was a halfpenny on papers of half a sheet or less and a penny
on newspapers that ranged from half a sheet to a single sheet in size. Jonathan
Swift expressed in his Journal
to Stella in August 7, 1712,
doubt in the ability of The
Spectator to hold out against
the tax. This doubt was proved justified in December 1712 by its
discontinuance. However, some of the existing journals continued production and
their numbers soon increased. Part of this increase was attributed to
corruption and political connections of its owners. Later, toward the middle of
the same century, the provisions and the penalties of the Stamp Act were made more stringent, yet the number of newspapers
continued to rise. In 1753 the total number of copies of newspapers sold yearly
in Britain amounted to 7,411,757. In 1760 it had risen to 9,464,790 and in 1767
to 11,300,980. In 1776 the number of newspapers published in London alone had
increased to 53.
An important figure in the fight for increased freedom of
the press was John Wilkes. When the Scottish John Stuart, 3rd Earl
of Bute, came to head the
government in 1762, Wilkes started aradical weekly publication, The North Briton, to attack him, using an anti-Scots tone. He was charged
with seditious libel over attacks on George
III's speech endorsing the Paris Peace Treaty of 1763 at the opening of Parliament on 23 April 1763.
Forty-nine people, including Wilkes, were arrested under the warrants. Wilkes,
however, gained considerable popular support as he asserted the
unconstitutionality of general warrants. At his court hearing the Lord Chief
Justice ruled that as an MP, Wilkes was protected by privilege from arrest on a
charge of libel. He was soon restored to his seat and he sued his arresters for
trespass. As a result of this
episode, his popular support surged, with people chanting, "Wilkes,
Liberty and Number 45", referring to the newspaper. However, he was soon
found guilty of libel again and he was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment and
a fine of £1,000. Although he was subsequently elected 3 times in a row for Middlesex, the decision was overturned by Parliament. When he was
finally released from prison in 1770 he campaigned for increased freedom of the
press; specifically he defended the right of publishers to print reports of
Parliamentary debates. Due to large and growing support, the government was
forced to back down and abandoned its attempts at censorship.
19th Century
By the early 19th century, there were 52 London papers and
over 100 other titles. In 1802 and 1815 the tax on newspapers was increased to
three pence and then four pence. Unable or unwilling to pay this fee, between
1831 and 1835 hundreds of untaxed newspapers made their appearance. The
political tone of most of them was fiercely revolutionary. Their publishers
were prosecuted but this failed to get rid of them. It was chiefly Milner
Gibson and Richard Cobden who advocated the case in parliament to first reduce
in 1836 and in 1855 totally repeal of the tax on newspapers. After the
reduction of the stamp tax in 1836 from four pence to one penny, the
circulation of English newspapers rose from 39,000,000 to 122,000,000 by 1854; a trend further exacerbated by
technological improvements in transportation and communication combined with
growing literacy.
The Times
The Daily Universal Register began life in 1785 and was later to become known as The Times from 1788. In
1817, Thomas Barnes was appointed general editor; he was a political radical, a
sharp critic of parliamentary hypocrisy and a champion of freedom of the press. Under Barnes and his successor in
1841, John Thadeus Delane, the influence of The
Times rose to great heights,
especially in politics and amongst the City of London. It spoke for reform.
Due to his influential support for Catholic Emancipation in Ireland, Barnes was described by his colleague Lord
Lyndhurst as
"the most powerful man in the country." Peter Fraser and Edward Sterling were
two noted journalists, and gained for The
Times the pompous/satirical
nickname 'The Thunderer' (from "We thundered out the other day an article
on social and political reform.") The paper was the first in the world to
reach mass circulation due to its early adoption of the steam-driven rotary
printing press. It was also the first properly national newspaper, as it was
distributed via the new steam trains to rapidly growing concentrations of urban
populations across the country. This helped ensure the profitability of the
paper and its growing influence.
The Times was the
first newspaper to send war correspondents to cover particular conflicts. W. H. Russell, the paper's correspondent with the army in the Crimean War, wrote immensely influential dispatches; for the first time
the public could read about the reality of warfare. In particular, on September
20, 1854, Russell wrote a missive about one battle that highlighted the
surgeons' "humane barbarity" and the lack of ambulance care for
wounded troops. Shocked and outraged, the public's backlash led to major
reforms.
A wounded British officer reading The Times's report of the end of the Crimean war, in John Everett Millais' painting Peace Concluded.
The Times became famous for its influential
leaders (editorials). For example, Robert Lowe wrote them between 1851 and 1868
on a wide range of economic topics such as free trade (which he favored).
Manchester Guardian
The Manchester Guardian was founded in Manchester in 1821 by a group of non-conformist businessmen. Its most famous editor, Charles Prestwich Scott, made the Guardian into a world-famous newspaper in the
1890s. The Daily Telegraph was first published on June 29, 1855 and was owned by
Arthur Sleigh, who transferred it to Joseph Levy the following year. Levy
produced it as the first penny newspaper in London. His son, Edward Lawson soon
became editor, a post he held until 1885. The
Daily Telegraph became the
organ of the middle class and could claim the largest circulation in the world
in 1890. It held a consistent Liberal Party allegiance until opposing
Gladstone's foreign policy in 1878 when it turned Unionist.
New Journalism
The New Journalism reached out not to the elite but to a
popular audience. Especially influential was William Thomas Stead, a controversial journalist and editor who pioneered the
art of investigative
journalism.[25] Stead's 'new journalism' paved the way for the modern tabloid.[26] He was influential in demonstrating how the press could be
used to influence public opinion and government policy, and advocated
"government by journalism".[27]He was also well known for his reportage on child welfare,
social legislation and reformation of England's criminal codes.
Stead became assistant editor of the Liberal Pall Mall Gazette in 1880 where he set about revolutionizing a traditionally
conservative newspaper "written by gentlemen for gentlemen." Over the
next seven years Stead would develop what Matthew Arnold dubbed 'The New Journalism'. His innovations as editor of the Gazette included incorporating maps and
diagrams into a newspaper for the first time, breaking up longer articles with
eye-catching subheadings and blending his own opinions with those of the people
he interviewed. He made a feature of the Pall
Mall extras, and his
enterprise and originality exercised a potent influence on contemporary
journalism and politics. Stead's first sensational campaign was based on a
Nonconformist pamphlet, "The Bitter Cry of Outcast London." His lurid
stories of squalid life spurred the government into clearing the slums and
building low-cost housing in their place. He also introduced the interview,
creating a new dimension in British journalism when he interviewed General Gordon in 1884. His
use of sensationalist headlines is exemplified with the death of Gordon in
Khartoum in 1885, when he ran the first 24-point headline in newspaper history,
"TOO LATE!", bemoaning the relief force's failure to rescue a
national hero. He is also
credited as originating the modern journalistic technique of creating a news
event rather than just reporting it, with his most famous 'investigation', the Eliza Armstrong case.
Matthew Arnold, the leading critic of the day, declared in
1887 that the New Journalism, "is full of ability, novelty, variety,
sensation, sympathy, generous instincts." However, he added, its "one
great fault is that it is feather-brained."
A pioneer of popular journalism for the masses had been the Chartist Northern
Star, first published on
26 May 1838. The same time saw the first cheap newspaper in the Daily Telegraph and Courier (1855), later to be known simply as
the Daily Telegraph. The
Illustrated London News,
founded in 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper.
From 1860 until around 1910 is considered a 'golden age' of
newspaper publication, with technical advances in printing and communication
combined with a professionalization of journalism and the prominence of new
owners.
20th Century
The turn of the century saw the rise of tabloid journalism aimed at the working class and tending to emphasize
sensational topics. Alfred Harmsworth or Lord Northcliffe, was an early pioneer of this style. In
1896 he began publishing the Daily Mail in London, which was a hit, holding the world record for
daily circulation until Harmsworth's death; taglines of The Daily Mail included "the busy man's daily
journal" and "the penny newspaper for one halfpenny". Prime
Minister Robert Cecil, Lord Salisbury, said it was "written by office boys
for office boys". He used
his newspapers newly found influence, in 1899, to successfully make a
charitable appeal for the dependents of soldiers fighting in the South African War by inviting Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Sullivan to write The Absent-Minded
Beggar.
India
Maulawi Muhammad Baqir in 1836 founded the first
Urdu-language newspaper the Delhi Urdu
Akhbar. India's press in the 1840s was a motley collection of
small-circulation daily or weekly sheets printed on rickety presses. Few
extended beyond their small communities and seldom tried to unite the many
castes, tribes, and regional subcultures of India. The Anglo-Indian papers
promoted purely British interests. Englishman Robert Knight (1825-1890) founded
two important English-language newspapers that reached a broad Indian audience, The Times of India and the Statesman. They
promoted nationalism in India, as Knight introduced the people to the power of
the press and made them familiar with political issues and the political
process.
Wednesday, 14 December 2016
Broadcast on All India Radio by individuals will not permit:
1. Criticism of friendly countries;
2. Attack on religions or communities;
3. Anything obscene or defamatory;
4. Incitement to violence or anything against
maintenance of law & order
5. Anything amounting to contempt of court;
6. Aspersions against the integrity of the
President, Governors and the Judiciary.
7. Attack on a political party by name;
8. Hostile criticism of any State or the Center;
9. Anything showing disrespect to the Constitution
or advocating change in the Constitution by violence; but advocating changes in
a constitutional way should not be debarred.
10. Appeal for funds except for the Prime
Minister’s National Relief Fund, at a time of External Emergency or if the
Country is faced with a natural calamity such a floods, earthquake or cyclone.
11. Direct publicity for or on behalf of an
individual or organization which is likely to benefit only that individual or
organization.
12. Trade names in broadcasts which amount to
advertising directly (except in Commercial Services).
NEWS REPORTING
Ø
Reporting involves researching and presenting information
for newspapers and other mass media.
Ø
Most reporters are assigned an area to focus on, called a
beat or patch. They are encouraged to cultivate sources so they will not miss
news.
Ø
Reporters gather their information in a variety of ways,
including tips, press releases, and witnessing an event.
Ø
Reporters gather and analyze facts about current events -
·
Trough interviews, investigations, public records or observations
and other sources.
·
Write news stories describing the events, background,
meaning, and effects.
·
They are given assignments such as disasters, crime, and
human interest.
·
They take notes while covering a story.
·
They check reference materials such as books, news files,
and public records including criminal and civil court files for additional
relevant facts.
·
Basic tasks of reporters involve viewing events
objectively, reporting them accurately, and explaining their significance.
·
Depending on the nature of job, reporting could be
classified into three groups:
o
Event reporting,
o
Interpretative reporting, and
o
Investigative reporting.
·
On the basis of subjects covered reporting can be
classified as follows:
o
Political reporting,
o
Economic reporting,
o
Social reporting,
o
Parliamentary reporting,
o
Business reporting,
o
Development reporting,
o
Crime reporting,
o
Legal reporting, and
o
Science and Technology reporting.
REPORTING: AN OVERVIEW:
REPORTING PRACTICES:
Traditional methods for gathering information
for a news story are –
1.
Interviews,
2.
Observation and
3.
Document searches
1.
Interviewing means -
Ø
Finding out what is happening?
Ø
Find people who know and talk to them.
Ø
The best sources are folks who were or are directly
involved in the incident or subject that you're covering.
Ø
If you are unsure of your ability to take accurate notes,
record the interview.
Ø
Interview start by getting the source's name and its
spelling, as well as his or her official title, if it is relevant to the story.
Ø
Ask questions that cannot be answered with a 'yes' or a
'no.'
Ø
Instead, ask people to describe the incident or
situation.
Ø
Listen as they respond and imagine what additional
information a reader would want.
Ø
Then ask follow-up questions to get that information.
Ø
Don't get intimidated and feel afraid that you are asking
"dumb" questions.
Ø
If your source says something you do not understand, ask
them to explain it in simpler terms.
Ø
If something a source says does not make sense to you,
say why and ask for an explanation.
Ø
If you don't understand something, your readers likely
will not as well.
Ø
Always be polite and respectful when interviewing
someone, but respect your readers as well.
Ø
Don't allow a source to intimidate you into not asking
tough, appropriate questions.
2.
Observation involves –
·
Getting relevant information first hand
·
Your five senses i.e. Ear, Eye, Nose, Feel, Taste (if
necessary) can provide the details. What do you See? Hear? Smell? Feel?
·
Drop those details into your story to provide your reader
a better perspective about what you are reporting.
3.
Documents search is another way of finding relevant
information.
·
Reporters can find thousands of stories in public
documents. Government databases on crime, school test scores, population
statistics, accident reports, environmental safety and more can keep a
motivated writer busy for years.
·
Documents also provide a great way to fact-check
statements made by an interview subject.
·
Journalists often use computer-assisted reporting to find
trends in large datasets, including budgets and crime reports.
No matter which method you use - and you
should try to use them all on each story –You want to find information that
illustrates and explains the issue or incident you are reporting.
The trick is to use as many methods of
collecting information -
·
First observe.
·
The next step is to interview.
·
Then, if necessary, go back and do more interviews.
·
Look for documents to find more information.
·
Check, check and double-check all your facts.
·
Try not to make mistakes when transcribing an interview,
copying data from official records or describing something you've seen.
·
Everyone makes a mistake at some point, but that does not
excuse carelessness.
REPORTERS, CORRESPONDENTS, AND STRINGERS:
Ø
Reporters usually have a general assignment, special
assignment, or have a regular "beat."
Ø
Beat Reporters are responsible for news originating from
specific areas such as municipal offices, hospitals, and police departments,
etc.
Ø
Reporters are also assigned to cover news in special
fields such as medicine, foreign affairs, consumer affairs, fashion, art,
education, labour, or social events.
Ø
Reporters who are expert in certain fields may specialize
in one type of story including stories involving sports, politics, or financial
affairs.
Ø
Reporters may also form their own concept for a feature
story and newspaper pictures.
Ø
They may carry camera and obtain photographic coverage
Ø
Reporters usually return to the office to write copy on a
computer.
Ø
As Reporters type their copy, it can appear
simultaneously on their screen and the editor's terminal screen, or the story
can be sent to the editor after it has been polished.
Ø
From the editor, it is transmitted to the composing room
computer, which produces the story.
Ø
Sometimes, to meet deadlines, reporters deliver their
news story over the telephone or use portable computers to enter the story,
which is then sent by modem directly to the newspaper's computer system.
Ø
“Correspondents” and “Stringers” report from distant
locations such as state capitals, important national places and international
locales.
Ø
Stringers are freelance reporters, often students or
non-professionals, who write news stories about their campus, community, or
local areas.
WORKING CONDITIONS:
Ø
Automation has eliminated the complexities of the
newsrooms. Automation and electronic technology have resulted in a more
high-tech information producing operation.
Ø
Reporters often work unscheduled overtime, and must have
a high energy level to keep up with the fast pace of this occupation.
Ø
They must also be prepared to work under stressful situations
such as earthquakes, fires, floods, shoot-outs, and other dangerous conditions.
Ø
Reporters work both indoors and outdoors, dealing with
all kinds of people.
Ø
They may work for long periods on unproductive leads.
Ø
Editors have the option of revising, shortening, or
deleting their stories from the newspaper.
Ø
Newspaper Reporter salaries vary depending on whether the
publication is weekly or daily, its circulation, experience level of the
reporter, the type of publication, etc.
Ø
Critics, columnists, feature writers, and other
specialists usually receive salaries based on individual contracts.
Ø
Stringers are paid according to the size and type of news
stories printed.
ENTRY LEVEL REQUIREMENTS AND TRAINING:
Ø
Employers look for those who write clearly, accurately,
and with correct spelling and grammar.
Ø
Bilingual Typing ability is essential and using computer
terminals for word processing is almost always necessary.
Ø
Bilingual skills are necessary for some assignments. At
least some prior work experience on an actual publication is expected.
Ø
Newspapers, prefer generalists rather than specialists
and look for people with broad experience in different fields.
Ø
Aside from academic and career related achievements, most
papers also place a great amount of emphasis on personal characteristics such
as curiosity, resourcefulness, competitiveness, and nose for news.
Ø
Education or exposure in such subjects as political
science, economics, business or finance can help in a job search.
Ø
Reporters get salary increases and more interesting or
challenging assignments as they advance. After many years of experience,
reporters with suitable talents may become columnists, special correspondents,
or critics; those with executive ability can become editors or administrators.
REPORTERS’ CODE OF ETHICS:
The duty of a reporter is to seek the truth
and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.
Professional integrity is the basis of a
reporter's credibility.
Reporters should be honest, fair and
courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
In addition, reporters should:
o Test the accuracy of information from
all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion
is never permissible.
o Diligently seek out subjects of news
stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.
o Identify sources whenever feasible. The
public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.
o Always question sources’ motives before
promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in
exchange for information. Keep promises.
o Make certain that headlines, news teases
and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and
quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight
incidents out of context.
o Never distort the content of news photos
or video. Image enhancement for technical clarity is always permissible. Label
montages and photo illustrations.
o Avoid misleading re-enactments or staged
news events. If re-enactment is necessary to tell a story, label it.
o Avoid undercover or other surreptitious
methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not
yield information vital to the public. Use of such methods should be explained
as part of the story.
o Never plagiarize.
o Tell the story of the diversity and
magnitude of the human experience boldly, even when it is unpopular to do so.
o Examine their own cultural values and
avoid imposing those values on others.
o Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age,
religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical
appearance or social status.
o Support the open exchange of views, even
views they find repugnant.
o Give voice to the voiceless; official
and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid.
o Distinguish between advocacy and news
reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labelled and not misrepresent fact
or context.
o Distinguish news from advertising and
avoid such publicity material. Recognize a special obligation to ensure that
the public's business is conducted in the open and that government records are
open to inspection.
REPORTERS SHOULD CAUSE NO HARM:
Reporters should:
o Show compassion for those who may be
affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with
children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
o Be sensitive when seeking or using
interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
o Recognize that gathering and reporting
information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license
for arrogance.
o Recognize that private people have a
greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials
and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public
need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.
o Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid
curiosity.
o Be cautious about identifying juvenile
suspects or victims of sex crimes.
o Be judicious about naming criminal suspects
before the formal filing of charges.
o Balance a criminal suspect’s fair trial
rights with the public’s right to be informed.
REPORTERS ACT INDEPENDENTLY:
Reporters should be free of obligation to any
interest other than the public's right to know. In this regard, reporters
should:
o Avoid conflicts of interest, real or
perceived.
o Remain free of associations and activities
that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.
o Refuse gifts, favours, fees, free travel
and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement,
public office and service in community organizations if they compromise
journalistic integrity.
o Disclose unavoidable conflicts.
o Be vigilant and courageous about holding
those with power accountable.
o Deny favoured treatment to advertisers and
special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.
o Be wary of sources offering information for
favours or money; avoid bidding for news.
REPORTERS BE ACCOUNTABLE:
Reporters are accountable to their readers,
listeners, viewers and each other. Thus reporters should:
o Clarify and explain news coverage and
invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct.
o Encourage the public to voice grievances
against the news media.
o Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
o Expose unethical practices of journalists
and the news media.
o Abide by the same high
standards to which they hold other
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