Obscene comics: Artist Michael Diana is the first cartoonist in U.S. history to be jailed for obscenity, writes Meagan Damore.
Diana was sentenced in 1994 to prison, probation, community service and told to take a journalism ethics course, get a psychological exam, draw nothing obscene and avoid minors. He says public attitudes changed since the mid-1990s.
Jim Lehrer’s rules: Ethicist Jack Marshall tells the 16 rules of journalism espoused by TV host Jim Lehrer, who died recently.
“It’s an excellent, excellent list, reflecting an experienced and ethically astute professional’s keen understanding of what his profession is supposed to do for our society, and the best way to do it,” writes Marshall. Lehrer moderated eleven presidential debates.
Getting it right: ABC News suspends correspondent who falsely speculated about Kobe Bryant crash fatalities, writes Stephen Battaglio.
“Journalism organizations have a heightened sensitivity over errors because they can give ammunition to President Trump’s attacks on the media, which he frequently describes as ‘fake news,'” he writes.
Speaking ill of the dead: A backlash against Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez for mentioning the Kobe Bryant rape case “steams from the ancient wisdom that urged folks not to speak ill of the dead,” writes Erik Wemple.
“A fine rule for everyone except for historians and journalists….,” he writes.
Kobe coverage chaotic: The rush to get news first forced errors, reports Margaret Sullivan.
“In any major breaking news event, whether a hurricane or a school shooting, you can assume that some of the early coverage will be wrong,” she writes. “The Kobe Bryant story was an especially bad example of that truism.”
Canada media and royals clash: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle warn media about privacy, writes Darcy Schild.
It’s “new territory” for Canadian media and privacy laws, which are “relatively undefined.”
Visual misinformation: The unsung heroes of the internet who develop standards for structured data are turning their attention to visual misinformation, writes Joshua Benton.
Applying deepfakes and cheapfakes to videos.
Covering tragedy delicately: Four Pulitzer Prize recipients give advice on approaching victims and survivors, writes Bobby Ross Jr.
You need to ask victims or family members for permission to intrude in their most vulnerable moments.
Media ethics issues of 2019: Sydney Smith summarizes noteworthy media ethics issues.
Misinformation, verification, racism, bad taste and damaging tweets from the past are among them.
Ethics codes overhaul: Bill Grueskin writes that the digital age needs a new code of ethics.
2020 “ought to be the year that our ethics codes get an overhaul, as journalists face relentless business pressures, relinquish even more control over how our content is distributed and framed and deal with the consequences of anonymity, doxing and transparency. It’s more urgent than ever, as our country becomes increasingly polarized and as trust in the news media remains tepid.”
