Spotting fake video: Reuters created a fake video to train journalists to detect manipulation, writes Lucinda Southern.
Clues include a mismatch between audio and lip-synching and visual inconsistencies, she writes. Humans verify all Reuters video content.
The media “reckoning:” Margaret Sullivan agrees there should be a “reckoning” over media coverage of President Trump.
“I reckon that American citizens would have been far worse off if skilled reporters hand’t dug into the connections between Trump’s associates — up to and including his son Don Jr. — and Russians. That reporting has not been invalidated,” she writes.
Scholars ponder media transparency: They often do not explain what it means in practice, write Michael Palanski and Andrea Hickerson.
“Media organizations may believe they are acting transparently, but incomplete attempts at transparency may damage credibility and thus do more harm than good,” they write.
Struggling with ethical dilemmas and difficult choices: Resist the temptation to classify every ethical issue as a dilemma, writes Nancy Matchett in an article appearing in the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives.
“When facing a genuine dilemma you are forced, by the circumstances, to do something unethical,” she writes.
Correcting errors in the digital age: “One essential element of transparency is doing corrections right,” writes Dan Gillmor.
In the digital age, “we can fix the error right in the news article (or video or audio) and append an explanation, thereby limiting the damage, because people new to the article will get the correct information,” he writes.
Robot journalism ethical checklist: As more media organizations deploy artificial intelligence, writes Tom Kent, “we need to keep a focus on the ethics and quality of robot news writing.”
Kent’s checklist touches on the accuracy of underlying data, automation producing thousands of erroneous stories and pitfalls, like defending a robot-written story.
Shaping word usage: National Association of Black Journalists asked the Associated Press to revise its stylebook on using the word “boy.”
“This wasn’t the first time Stylebook editors had acted on recommendations from marginalized groups,” writes Natalie Yahr.
The emergence of transparency: Transparency became a new guiding principle in media ethics, touching off a debate over whether it should replace acting independently.
From the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives.
https://ethicsadviceline.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=267&action=edit
Focusing on good news: The Philadelphia Inquirer takes an idea from the Minneapolis Star Tribune to print a good news section, writes Kristen Hare.
“The work takes on tough topics, including justice, health, education and poverty, but with a solutions journalism approach,” she writes, also focusing on stories and people making the region better.
Defining journalism and activism: “Journalism has long been committed to unbiased reporting and to shining a light on injustices in society,” writes Michael Blanding.
The tension between these two mandates has become more apparent in the current polarized political moment, he says.
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 