Class #9 Journalism Ethics and Issues

1. JOURNALISM ETHICS & ISSUES
CLASS #9 | JRNL 4650 | FALL 2016
• Instructor: Bill Mitchell
• bmitch (at) gmail (dot) com
• 727-641-9407
• 6 October 2016 | Northeastern Univ.
1

2. WHAT WE’LL DO TODAY
• Incentivised Reviews by Wolff
• Personal details about families of the accused by Corlyn
• Ethical issues in the Presidential Campaign
• Possible events for ethics-angle-of-an-event assignment
• Review of Foreman’s Chapter 10: Conflicts of Interest:
Appearances Count
• Writing some policies for common conflicts
• Assignments for Tuesday Oct. 11
2

3. Wolff Vorhoff
THE DEEP-ROOTED ISSUE OF INCENTIVIZED
REVIEWS

4. • Videogamedunkey
LEADING WITH EXAMPLE:

5. • Amazon
• MetaReview.com
• October 3
change.
• IGN
• Hyping up
games.
• Few low scores.
• PewDiePie
• Other YouTubers
MORE INSTANCES:

6. • Fear of needing to appease the product owners.
• Fear of telling the truth.
• Unclear whether a review is incentivized or not to
outsiders.
• No standard of disclosure.
• Free product bias.
• Product owners hold power ($$$) over reviewers.
APPARENT ISSUES

7. • Are you okay with the existence of incentivized reviews?
• Does this need to be disclosed?
• Is it okay for journalists to accept money to review a product?
• Does this need to be disclosed?
• Is it okay for companies to have the final say in whether they like the
review or not?
• Should reviewers fear what the owner of what they are reviewing
thinks?
• More important to serve the people or the owner?
• Should there be protections and/or rules for deals between journalists
and companies?
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

8. 8

9. 9

10. UPCOMING EVENTS FOR POSSIBLE ETHICAL-
ANGLE-OF-AN-EVENT ASSIGNMENT
10

11. UPCOMING EVENTS FOR POSSIBLE ETHICAL-
ANGLE-OF-AN-EVENT ASSIGNMENT
11

12. UPCOMING EVENTS FOR POSSIBLE ETHICAL-
ANGLE-OF-AN-EVENT ASSIGNMENT
12

13. QUIZ REVIEW:
RESULTS RANGED FROM…
13
• 27 of 27 correct…
• To 17 of 27 correct
• Adjustment for questions of perhaps debatable clarity
or importance:
• Up to three incorrect answers thrown out of your
score

14. QUIZ REVIEW:
IF MORE THAN HALF THE CLASS GETS A
TRUE/FALSE QUESTION WRONG, THEN
MAYBE…
14
• The fact(s) in question are fairly obscure
• The material was insufficiently emphasized by the instructor
• The wording of the question is ambiguous
• A big chunk of the class read the text less closely than the
rest of the class
• All or any of the above

15. QUESTION #1:
6 CORRECT; 13 INCORRECT
15
• In producing the Lovelle Svart video diaries, the journalists
decided they would not do anything if she lost
consciousness, because she had posted “do not
resuscitate” signs in her bedroom.
• Correct answer: False.
• Key excerpt from the text (Pg. 4): The journalists “resolved
that, if they were alone with her in her bedroom and she
lost consciousness, they would pull the emergency cord
and let medical personnel handle the situation.”
• Why the question matters:
• Importance of anticipating ethical dilemmas

16. QUESTION #7:
7 CORRECT; 12 INCORRECT
16
• Historically, lawyers for news organizations have urged their clients to
put their ethical principles in writing in order to provide clear guidance
to the journalists.
• Correct answer: False.
• Key excerpt from the text (Pg. 32): Many media lawyers “feared that if
the (ethics) policies were subpoened by the attorney for someone
suing for libel, they could be used to show that a news organization
was negligent by its own standard.”
• Why the question matters: Don’t be surprised (or deterred) if an
attorney tries to talk your newsroom out of adopting and posting ethics
guidelines.
• Today, many media lawyers agree that “aspirational” as opposed
to prescriptive ethics guidelines can be a plus in court.

17. QUESTION #22:
4 CORRECT; 15 INCORRECT
17
• The idea of having newsroom ethics codes is universally
accepted in the profession.
• Correct answer: False.
• Key excerpt from the text (Pg. 91): “Although codes are well
established in the profession, journalism scholars and
practitioners continue to debate their worth. Critics make these
arguments:
• Codes are too vague... They discourage thoughtful decision-
making... Codes are mere PR plays... The owners don’t
follow the codes
• Why the question matters: Don’t be surprised (or deterred) if
colleagues try to talk you or your newsroom out of adopting and
posting ethics guidelines.

18. QUESTION #11:
8 CORRECT; 11 INCORRECT
18
• It is accepted practice in journalism to share all still
photographs and video taken during riots, in order to help
police identify criminals.
• Correct answer: False.
• Key excerpt from the text (Pg. 46): “The media have long
opposed these attempts to press them into service as a sort
of litigation resource or video library for the prosecution or
the defense.”
• Why the question matters: Maintaining independence
often requires a journalist to refuse to cooperate with any
party in a dispute, including police and government officials.

19. ELECTION ISSUES: CHOOSING WHICH STORIES
TO PURSUE…
19

20. ELECTION ETHICS: CHOOSING WHICH
STORIES NOT TO PURSUE
20

21. ELECTION ETHICS – WHEN PARTISANSHIP
TRUMPS REALITY
21

22. WHAT IS A “CONFLICT OF INTEREST”?
• Journalists owe their primary loyalty to the
audience.
• They have a conflict of interest if any self-
interest, or loyalty to any person or
organization, deflects them from doing their
duty to the audience.
Following slides adapted from Wiley & Sons’ Instructors’ Resources

23. THE RARE ACTUAL CONFLICT
• If a journalist allows self-interest to interfere
with his or her duty, that is a flagrant violation
of trust.
• For example, deliberately slanting a story to
help the journalist’s favored candidate.
• Other journalists would not tolerate such a
colleague.

24. THE APPEARANCE OF CONFLICT
• More often, what the public sees is an
appearance of conflict.
• The journalist is doing an honest job, but
the audience may think otherwise.
• Consequently, journalists must avoid
appearances of conflicts as well as actual
conflicts.

25. JOURNALISTS AND THEIR OPINIONS
• Everyone has them.
• So, journalists have opinions about the
people and events they cover.
• The test of professionalism is to filter their
opinions out of news coverage.

26. WHY NOT DISCLOSE OUR
CONFLICTS?
• Most bloggers and some journalists think
that, rather than avoiding conflicts, we should
simply tell the audience about biases or
conflicts.
• Then the audience could take those biases
and conflicts into account.
• Human nature suggests otherwise.

27. THE FOOTBALL REFEREE ANALOGY
• A football referee would not tell everybody
which team is better, because people would
suspect bias in his calls.
• In the news arena, journalists should be just
as discreet.
• Like the referee, they need to be impartial –
and also to be seen as impartial.
• Part of being fair is to appear to be fair.

28. AVOIDING AN
APPEARANCE OF CONFLICT
• Journalists have to forgo some privileges,
even constitutional rights, that others enjoy.
• For example, not being involved in politics
except for casting one’s vote in private.

29. YOU’RE A JOURNALIST 24/7
• Journalists’ acquaintances and news subjects
perceive them in their professional role all the
time.
• Even when off duty, they need to be aware of
this perception.

30. DOES DISCLOSURE HELP?
• If a conflict can be avoided, it should be.
Telling the audience about the conflict is not
enough.
• A disclosure is appropriate if the conflict is
unavoidable or insignificant.

31. NEWSROOM CONFLICT CODES
• Most newsrooms issue conflict-of-interest
codes.
• The codes provide guidance for how to deal
with problems.
• They inform journalists in advance of what
is expected.

32. COMMON SOURCES OF
CONFLICTS
• Freebies – gifts from news subjects
• Secondary sources of income
• Speaking out on divisive issues
• Civic activities
• Relationships with sources

33. SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES
• Don’t post anything you would not want to
see on the front page.
• Engage with readers – but do so in a
professional manner.
• Beware of doing anything that would
suggest a perception of bias.
• When using social media to report, always
identify yourself as a journalist.
Concludes slides adapted from Wiley & Sons’ Instructors’ Resources

34. DRAFTING POLICIES TO FIT SOME
COMMON CIRCUMSTANCES
34
• See handout

35. PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF THE EDITOR IN CHARGE OF THE JOURNALISTS
WRESTLING WITH ONE OF THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. SELECT ONE AND, WITH A
PARTNER, WRITE A BRIEF POLICY TO COVER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES.
35
• 1 Your spouse has taken a job with the campaign organization of a candidate for the Senate. You occasionally
cover politics.
• 2 You are asked to be the director of your neighborhood’s Little League baseball program.
• 3 As a hobby, you have created a personal blog. Occasionally, you comment on issues like abortion.
• 4 An airline is beginning service to Tahiti and is inviting you and other travel writers to fly free. Since it is an
“inaugural flight” promotion, no one aboard is paying. This would give you a chance to write a travel story at relatively
little cost to the paper.
• 5 You have been frustrated in your efforts to get your car dealer’s service department to repair the car you
bought from the dealer. At the office, you take out a sheet of your media outlet’s stationery and write a letter of
complaint to the dealer himself.
• 6 A few years ago, you wrote a feature article about an entrepreneur. You considered it a fair article, and it
pleased the story subject. Now the subject is offering you a substantial fee to write the text for a brochure for her
business.
• 7 You are invited to appear on television to discuss political news with other journalists covering politics.
• 8 You agree to become the editor of church’s monthly newsletter. You are identified, but not by your
professional affiliation, in the newsletter.
• 9 An acquaintance thinks he has a news story that your news organization might be interested in publishing.
It’s a subject you don’t normally cover. Your acquaintance asks how he might get his story considered.
• 10 You learn that you have been selected for an award by a trade organization that you cover. You did not enter
any competition, and you have never even heard of the award. Do you accept?
•

36. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
36
• Guidance from the Times Code
• 1 Report your spouse’s job to your supervisor. You may get a new
assignment.
• 102. The company and its units depend on staff members to disclose
potential problems in a timely fashion, with an eye to working together to
head off embarrassment to all concerned. Any staff member who sees a
potential for a conflict of interest in the activities of spouse, relatives,
or friends must discuss the situation with newsroom management. In
many or even most cases, disclosure will suffice. But if newsroom
management considers the problem serious, the staff member may have to
withdraw from certain coverage. Sometimes an assignment may have to be
modified or a beat changed.

37. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
37
• Guidance from the Times Code
• 2 Play ball! Community involvement is encouraged if it is unlikely to attract news
coverage.
• 96. Our company respects community citizenship. Normally the restriction on
joining trustee boards or advisory committees will not apply to local or
neighborhood organizations that are unlikely to generate news of broader
interest and those that do not generally seek to shape public policy. These
typically include houses of worship, community charities, civic clubs, local
libraries, fine arts groups, hobby groups, youth athletic leagues, country
clubs, and alumni groups. But news is unpredictable. Even neighborhood
institutions sometimes find themselves in the spotlight. In that event, a staff member
with ties to the institution must stand aside from any controversy and not take part
in the coverage. In no case may a staff member’s affiliation with our company be
used to further the goals of such a nonprofit or volunteer organization.

38. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
38
• Guidance from the Times Code
• 3 Avoid divisive public issues on your blog.
• 130. Bloggers may write lively commentary on their preferences in food, music,
sports, or other avocations, but as journalists they must avoid taking stands on
divisive public issues. A staff member’s Web page that was outspoken on the
abortion issue would violate our policy in exactly the same way as
participation in a march or rally on the subject. A blog that takes a political
stand is as far out of bounds as a letter to the editor supporting or opposing a
candidate. The definition of a divisive public issue will vary from one community to
another; in case of doubt, staff members should consult local newsroom
management.

39. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
39
• Guidance from the Times Code
• 4 Don’t accept the free flight.
• 31. Staff members may not accept free or discounted transportation and
lodging except where special circumstances give little or no choice. Such special
cases include certain military or scientific expeditions and other trips for which
alternative arrangements would be impractical – for example, an interview aboard a
corporate jet where there is no benefit other than the interview. Journalists should
consult responsible newsroom managers in advance when special circumstances
arise.

40. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
40
• Guidance from the Times Code
• 5 Don’t use the stationery. A journalist should not use his or her connection to the
news organization to gain an advantage in a private matter.
• 71. Staff members may not use company stationery, business cards, forms or
other materials for any purpose except official business.

41. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
41
• 6 Don’t accept the offer.
• 123. Because outside work unavoidably reflects on our
company, staff members who accept freelance assignments or
make broadcast or online appearances should adhere to these
guidelines in carrying out that work. For example, they may not
accept compensation, expenses, discounts, gifts or other
inducements from a news source. Similarly, any staff member who
establishes a personal site on the Web must ensure that his or her
online conduct conforms to these guidelines.
•

42. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
42
• Guidance from the Times Code
• 7 It’s OK to go on the air, but with caveats.
• 93. Staff members may appear from time to time on local or
national radio and television programs devoted to public affairs,
but they should avoid expressing views that go beyond the news
and analysis that could properly appear under their regular
bylines. Op-ed columnists and editorial writers enjoy more leeway
than others in speaking publicly, because their business is expressing
opinions. They should nevertheless choose carefully the forums in
which they appear and protect the impartiality of our journalism.
•

43. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
43
• 8 You can serve in this position.
• 34. With the exception of press pool arrangements imposed by news
sources, staff members may not join teams covering news events for
other organizations (unless their work is part of a duly authorized joint
venture), and they may not accept payment from competitors for news
tips. They may not be listed on the masthead of any publication
or Web site outside our company (except for a nonprofessional
publication such as a religious congregation’s newsletter, an
alumni magazine or a club bulletin).
•

44. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
44
• 9 Although journalists are not supposed to give advice, you can
help your acquaintance – to a certain point.
• 40. It is an inherent conflict for a journalist to perform public relations
work, paid or unpaid. Staff members may not counsel individuals or
organizations on how to deal successfully with the news media. They
may not, for example, advise candidates for public office, write or edit
annual reports, or contribute to the programs of sports teams.
• 41. They may, of course, explain the newsroom’s normal
workings and steer outsiders to the appropriate editor or
reporter. They may offer basic advice to community or neighborhood
institutions such as their child’s school, a small museum, a local
charity, or their house of worship.

45. FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CODE:
45
• Guidance from the Times Code
• 10 Most likely, you will return the award.
• 47. Each newsroom’s management should maintain a current list of
competitions it has approved. Staff members who would like to enter
others should consult the responsible news executive. A critical factor
in approving a competition, whatever the sponsorship, is a record of
arm’s-length decisions, including a willingness to honor unfavorable
reporting. Staff members who win unsought awards from groups
that do not meet the criteria established here should decline,
politely explaining our policy.

46. ASSIGNMENTS FOR TUESDAY OCT. 11
• Read and perhaps post a comment to posts by Ruobing & Jodie
• Read Chapter 12 in Foreman: Getting the Story Right and Being Fair;
Also:
• Atul Gawunde on checklists:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/12/10/the-checklist;
• CJR on distorted stories leading to distorted theories:
http://www.cjr.org/politics/distorted_story_spawns_distort.php;
• Buttry and Silverman on Accuracy Checklists:
https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/my-version-of-craig-
silvermans-accuracy-checklist/
• Ethics in campaign coverage: Send me your examples (optional)
• Note: Personal Ethics Code due Oct. 13 (end of day) as a post on your
blog
46