SF police sow suspicion of media: The heavy-handed seizure of a freelance reporter’s records and devices is a gross violation of federal rules, writes Kelly McBride.
“By continuing to argue publicly that their raid was justified, and that this particular journalist is a bad person who shouldn’t be trusted, the SFPD adds to the public confusion over the role of the press,” she writes.
Evaluating medical studies: Journalists should consider newsworthiness, methodology and categories of studies before covering them, writes Chloe Reichel, who offers a tip sheet.
“With the amount of research published on a daily basis, journalists have to work to discern what’s worth covering,” she writes.
Philanthropy boosts western media: A journalism collaboration stretching from Montana to New Mexico focuses on rural issues and Native American stories, writes Christine Schmidt.
A partnership started in 2015 aims to make local newspapers and TV stations useful sources of information.
Media covering their own scandals: Sex scandals in 2017 and 2018 brought down top media figures, forcing outlets to report about themselves.
Organizations faced questions of how sexual harassment and assault could fester unaddressed, writes Claudia Meyer-Samargia.
“But for individual journalists, particularly those who cover news media, questions focused on how they could cover these cases ethically, with the right balance of truth-telling, transparency and respect for privacy.” Protecting an organization’s reputation is an issue.
Updating its code of conduct, Investigative Reporters & Editors adopted principles calling for banning members who violate the code.
“IRE may take any action it deems appropriate to deal with those who violate our principles, including exclusion from our events, forums, listservs and the organization itself,” says the code.
By contrast, the Society of Professional Journalists says its ethics code is voluntary.
Opinion in the news: It’s a split decision when RAND looked at media objectivity, reports Laura Hazard Owen.
Journalism became more subjective over time, she writes. But it depends on the type of journalism.
“Newspapers reporting remains much as it was before the Web — but both TV and online news rely more heavily on emotion, personal experiences and argument.”
Poynter deletes list of unreliable sites: Poynter Institute says it “messed up” in calling 515 websites unreliable without checking the facts, reports Sydney Smith.
“These lapses are surprising given Poynter’s reputation and position as a vaunted journalism education organization,” writes Smith. Poynter admitted using lists compiled by others. Blames “methodology.”
SF police raid journalist’s home: The incident involving a freelance videographer raises concerns over a journalist’s rights, reports Rachel Swan.
Police and federal agents broke into the freelancer’s home in search of the identification of a news source.
Journalists a rare sighting: The Pew Research Center finds 21 percent of Americans never spoke with a local journalist, writes Elizabeth Grieco.
Americans who have spoken with a journalist are a bit more likely than those who have not to say local news media do a very good job.
Parting company with Facebook: Journalists working with the giant tech platform is a Faustian bargain, writes Mathew Ingram: “The benefits of doing business with Facebook don’t begin to outweigh the ethical compromises required to do so.”
Ingram asks: “How much of what you are doing serves (Facebook’s) interests rather than yours, or the interests of journalism, or society in general?”
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 