The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics encompasses four broad principles:
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- Seek Truth and Report It
- Minimize Harm
- Act Independently
- Be Accountable and Transparent
Each principle is accompanied by multiple bullet points, which in turn link to background information. But those are the starting points, and I think they provide a good rough guide for how to practice ethical journalism.
Whenever I teach one of our ethics classes, I ask my students to come up with a fifth principle as well as some explanatory material. This semester, I’m teaching our graduate ethics seminar. It’s a small class — five grad students and one undergrad. Last week I divided them into three teams of two and put them to work. Here’s what they came up with. (Longtime readers of Media Nation will recognize this exercise.) I’ve done a little editing, mainly for parallel construction.
Practice Digital Diligence
- Utilize AI for structural purposes such as transcribing interviews, searching for sources and entering data.
- Disclose the use of AI software when publishing artificial creations.
- Give credit by providing hyperlinks to other journalistic sources.
- Gain verification status on social platforms for credibility purposes.
- Do not engage with negative comments on social media posts.
- Engage with subscribers who might use social media to ask questions about a story.
- Apply AP style to social media posts.
- Give credit to any artists whose work you might borrow. Respect copyright law.
Use Modern Resources Responsibly
- Use social media and other digital tools, such as comment sections, to crowdsource information, connect with others and distribute news in a more accessible way.
- Do not use these tools to engage in ragebait or to get tangled in messy and unproductive discourse online.
- Acceptable uses of AI include gathering information, reformatting your reporting, transcribing interviews and similar non-public-facing tasks.
- AI should be used more effectively to guide your reporting rather than replacing it.
Be Compassionate
- Treat sources and communities with empathy and care.
- Avoid misleading sources or providing false hope — for instance, don’t promise someone who is suffering that you’ll be able to give them assistance.
- Do not exploit a source’s lack of media training. Provide a detailed explanation of your reporting methods when warranted.
- Avoid using jargon both in interacting with sources and in producing a story.
- Be a human first. If that clashes with your role as a journalist, that should be secondary.
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In addition to their work on extending the Code of Ethics, I asked them on the first day of class to name one significant ethical issue that they think faces journalism. What follows is my attempt to summarize a longer conversation that we had in class.
► Stand up for our independence as journalists
► Explore and define the role of AI and truth in journalism
► Make sure we include a range of perspectives
► Push back against fake news, ragebait, etc.
► Avoid passive voice that evades responsibility
► Move beyond our preconceptions in pursuit of the truth
I hope you’ll agree that this is good, thought-provoking stuff. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the semester will go.
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A code of ethics for journalists, necessary to be taught and abided by, as with all professions. A few comments.
• There is tension between “Seek truth and report it” and “Make sure we include a range of perspectives.” In other words, pay attention that not all perspectives have equal weight, and thus merit inclusion in a story. To do so dilutes it. Be mindful of what’s often attributed to Edward R. Murrow as “Some stories have only one side,” but he was rather fluid with that theme and extemporaneous in his speeches, the more accurate quote is, “I simply cannot accept that there are, on every story, two equal and logical sides to an argument.” Very much apropos to this is what Fred Friendly, president of CBS News and producer for Murrow did actually say, “Sometimes to tell the truth you have to take a stand. Sometimes there is only one side to a story.” See more, much more, at https://billmoyers.com/story/sometimes-to-tell-the-truth-you-have-to-take-a-stand/.
• There is also tension between the immediacy of journalism (after all, the word derives from the Latin for “of the day”) and the necessary but notorious deadline, and the often much larger context within which the story fits. This means getting a reasonable grasp of history on key events to flesh out a continuing story. Or as stated among the several items, “Move beyond our preconceptions in pursuit of the truth.” Example: there was a century-long run-up to Oct. 7, 2023, which next to no one in the mainstream media, at least in this country, is aware of or dares to report on.
• “Push back against fake news, ragebait, etc.” This means keeping abreast of what can broadly be termed the “disinformation industry.” It includes being aware of the reliability and accuracy of think tanks, so-called “institutes,” and various groups and organizations fronting for special interests. For example, check out the American Middle East Press Association at http://www.ampress.org. Most notorious in this universe is the Hasbara Strategy out of Israel. For a start in understanding this, see https://mepc.org/speeches/hasbara-and-control-narrative-element-strategy/
• Be aware of the extensive, and justifiably termed “ruthless,” Israeli/Zionist influence on and infiltration of the media, academia, and other insitituions in this and other countries. To do so is not to be anti-Semitic, but realistic, hence truthful. For example see https://www.mintpressnews.com/revealed-the-israel-lobbyists-writing-americas-news/288575/ and https://www.mintpressnews.com/professor-columbia-university-scandal-former-israeli-spy/289231/.
• Develop a portfolio of reliable, knowledgeable, authoritative “alternate” or “independent” news sources, just a few examples being https://electronicintifada.net/, https://www.dropsitenews.com/, and https://www.levernews.com/.
• Ever so much more to say, but enough for now, except for this. As a case study relating to this discussion, dissect this Opinion piece from the Boston Globe found here https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/07/opinion/israel-gaza-oct-7-two-years-later/?p1=BGSearch_Advanced_Results and tally the number violations of journalism ethics you find.
Good luck in your career.
This is good stuff, Dan. I also would recommend something like “News stories should be not only factually accurate but contextually accurate as well.”
“contextually accurate as well.”
Yes, that’s fundamental, but that also requires a helluva lotta work, initiative, and fortitude. Just by dint of the nature of the beast, that isn’t always possible given deadlines, but that’s where long form journalism comes in as a bulwark, as well as decent editorial board. Don’t always, often, find that.
I remember an interview some time ago when Jon Stewart was at his prime on “The Daily Show,” ostensibly a comedy show that actually provided far better news and analysis than did the rest of the mainstream media. Moyers was asked of this phenomenon, and responded with “I wish I could afford his staff,” or to that effect.
Point being, good information and analysis require good people and hence good money. The broad media in this country have yet to work out a sustainable business model seeing as the print advertising-supported model has collapsed. Moguls road in as white knights in a few instances, but Bezos has ruined the WaPo, I’m not sure if John Henry has rescued the Globe so much as vital journalism as opposed to its ESPN value.