Sponsored content: All newspapers struggle to survive, observed Tom Rosensteil in a story appearing in the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives.
Sponsored content might be the future of newspapers trying to be creative about finding new sources of revenue, he says.
Dubious polling: Poll results last year on presidential approval, the Mueller investigation, elections, politics and other issues were suspect, writes David W. Moore.
“Getting the news organizations to change their copious coverage of polls would be as difficult as…well, rolling a boulder up a mountain,” he writes.
Protecting sources: Best practices to minimize risks to whistle-blowers require new tactics, writes Joshua Benton, including a mix of digital and “human” practices.
He cites “The Perugia Principles for Journalists Working with Whistle-Blowers in the Digital Age.”
Reporting data with integrity: When inspecting raw data and statistics, writes Stephen Rynkiewicz, these are questions to ask:
Is it accurate? Is it timely? Is it relevant? Is it complete? Is it trustworthy?
From the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives.
Using Twitter ethically: Twitter evolved from an oddity to a key tool for gathering and reporting news, writes David Craig.
Ethical pressure points: Handling unverified information, navigating between personal and professional boundaries and providing context and narrative structure. From the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives.
The hazards of fact-checking: Three media and law groups join to form the Fact-Checkers Legal Support Initiative to fend off attacks on fact-checkers.
“Many are being threatened with lawsuits and often do not have the resources to defend themselves,” says FLSI.
Threats include online harassment and physical violence by those exposed in the public arena for misinformation.
Morality clauses: Writers find them in their contracts, writes Judith Shulevitz, but “immorality is a slippery concept,” like “public disrepute.” The public is fickle in what it takes umbrage at.
“Times change, norms change with them. Morality clauses hand the power to censor to publishers, not the government, so they don’t violate the constitutional right to free speech. But that power is still dangerous.”
Ethics quiz: If a man tells media that he will jump off a bridge, are journalists obligated to stop him? Is that becoming part of the story?
From Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives. Media mistakes.
Ethics quiz: A managing editor discovers his city hall reporter is having an affair with the mayor.
If you were the editor, what would you do? The editor called the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists for help. We’ve been there.
Reporting tragedy — the “death knock:”
“Each person a journalist contacts may react differently: slam a door in their face, break down in tears or welcome the chance to speak about a loved one,” writes Laura Hardy. “A journalist needs to be prepared for every possible scenario.”
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 