Poll results canceled: An electronic glitch is blamed for casting doubts on a poll of Iowa democrats, so results are not released, writes David W. Moore.
It matters that two media organizations and the pollster agreed to adhere to the highest ethical standards by not releasing data that might be faulty, he writes.
Decade of media ethics: Sydney Smith gives an overview of major issues and trends from 2010-2019.
The term “fake news” rises in political reporting. Hoaxes, lawsuits, retractions and firings crop up in covering the president.
The last half of the decade saw an apparent decrease in plagiarism and fabrication cases.
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.
Reporting on special needs people: A complaint about a headline referring to a “wheelchair-bound man” caused a Canadian newspaper to caution its staff when reporting on people with disabilities, reported iMediaEthics.
The term is “antiquated and ableist” ruled Canada’s National News Media Council. Say “person who uses a wheelchair.”
One story, 15 corrections: The Washington Post is embarrassed by widespread errors in a freelance article about two African-American families, writes Sydney Smith.
Errors included misspellings, family details, omissions of key details and statements, descriptions of incidents, context and allegations.
Using the right word: A memo from the NPR standards editor says sexual abuse victims under 18 should be called girls and boys, not women and men, reports iMediaEthics.
Clarifications came when NPR listeners were upset about the language used in reporting on Jeffrey Epstein and R. Kelly.
Use of graphic photos explained: iMediaEthics writer Sydney Smith tells why the Associated Press, The New York Times and USA Today published photos of a dead man and his daughter drowned in the Rio Grande.
Deemed a moment in time showing the danger and desperation of immigrants from Central America.
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.”
Identifying who funds studies: iMediaEthics reports on NPR’s efforts to identify conflicts of interest because many journal studies end up hidden behind a paywall and readers can’t always find the source material.
Peoria Journal Star apologizes for letter: Editor Dennis Anderson said publishing a letter comparing the Illinois governor to Adolph Hitler “crossed a line.”
Linking abortion and the Holocaust was not right, Anderson wrote.
“Reckless references to abominable history are part and parcel to the astonishing decline of public discourse in our country, and in this case we should have known better,” he wrote.
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 