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Journalism Ethics

With Robert Sietsema's Departure, The Village Voice Loses A Voice of Integrity

Cathy Erway | Posted 05.20.2013 | Media
Cathy Erway

In an age of bloggers, Yelpers and Instagrammers, in which everyone has the means to add their two cents, it's easy to see the need for a higher order of food criticism.

Disgraced Journalist Jonah Lehrer Talks About His Misdeeds; Wants to Earn Trust

Paul Raeburn | Posted 04.14.2013 | Media
Paul Raeburn

Standing beside a large screen displaying brutal comments on Twitter, the disgraced science writer Jonah Lehrer today delivered a talk that seemed to be aimed primarily at rehabilitating his writing career, rather than offering any insights on his journalistic misdeeds.

Media Coverage: Who's Covering Whom?

Karen Dumas | Posted 04.06.2013 | Detroit
Karen Dumas

Ethics on every level are best upheld when there is oversight. If it works for corporate leaders, the general public and government officials, it should also work for those in the media. Self-supervision has rarely proved objective or effective.

The Horrific Picture From the New York Subway

Edward Wasserman | Posted 02.16.2013 | Media
Edward Wasserman

Great news photos often come with a moral taint. Maybe it's the gaze they enable, the way they distill misery, desperation, injury, sorrow into mere spectacle. We look, but we're torn by contradictory impulses: To witness, and to avert our eyes.

Do We Have Sufficient Social Media Rules for Lawyers and Non-Lawyers?

Scott B. Piekarsky | Posted 02.09.2013 | Media
Scott B. Piekarsky

As an always continuing student and expert in the area of ethics, I feel that our rules and laws are too general, vague and non-specific for the Internet age.

Craig Newmark's big issues for craigconnects in 2013

Craig Newmark | Posted 02.02.2013 | Impact
Craig Newmark

Nothing I do is altruistic the way I look at things; it just feels right. A nerd's gotta do what a nerd's gotta do.

New Poll Reveals Dismally Low Rating For Journalists

Posted 12.03.2012 | Media

Another poll released on Monday revealed the public's less-than-warm opinion of the press. A new Gallup poll on perceived honesty and ethical stan...

How About News We Can Trust?

Craig Newmark | Posted 01.29.2013 | Media
Craig Newmark

Me, I just want news I can trust. Sure, I'm not in the news industry, and have no idea how to fix the problem. However, maybe we can get a good start regarding what might be the worst of ethical abuses.

Restoring trustworthiness to news

Craig Newmark | Posted 12.22.2012 | Media
Craig Newmark

Hey there, folks, I'm speaking at the Poynter Journalism Ethics Symposium today. I gave my speech a little earlier, and this is what I talked about: ...

The 'Live TV' Suicide: Forgive Shep Smith, But Boycott Buzzfeed

David Shuster | Posted 11.30.2012 | Media
David Shuster

In my 23 years in journalism, I've never seen a self-proclaimed "news organization" do anything so obscene, despicable, and shameful. I'm not referring to Fox News. No, I'm talking about Buzzfeed.com.

Lessons for the Young Libertarian Journalist

Brian LaSorsa | Posted 11.18.2012 | Media
Brian LaSorsa

Beyond the censorship and ostracism politicians will create, libertarian journalists need to remember the one factor that is equally important to evading political regulations: winning public opinion.

NYT Public Editor Presses Journalists, Editors On 'False Balance'

www.nytimes.com | Margaret Sullivan | Posted 11.16.2012 | Media

IN journalism, as in life, balance sounds like an unassailably good thing....

Poynter Conference on Journalist Ethics: Let's Jump the Gun

Craig Newmark | Posted 10.16.2012 | Media
Craig Newmark

I've wondered what's the deal when you can see that a reporter knows when he's being lied to, but says that he has to "leave it there" and throw it back to the anchor. That reinforces the lie.

National Journal Bans Controversial Practice

Posted 07.23.2012 | Media

The National Journal said on Saturday that it would no longer accept quotes from sources that demand to tweak and approve statements before publicatio...

What's Wrong With 'Plagiarizing' Your Own Work?

Edward Wasserman | Posted 09.04.2012 | Media
Edward Wasserman

At first blush, reusing worthwhile work seems not only permissible but beneficial. Plus it's common. Still, rank and file journalists were outraged.

In Support of Affordable Health Care

Megan Riesz | Posted 08.27.2012 | College
Megan Riesz

Yes, we journalists have a responsibility to deliver news in a way that encourages our readers to think for themselves. But like our more vocal counterparts, we, too, succumb to our convictions.

On Ethics, the Imperiled Printed Word and the News

Jerry Lanson | Posted 07.30.2012 | Media
Jerry Lanson

I've long looked to The New Yorker as the gold standard for meticulous, thoroughly vetted, contextual journalism. So it came as a surprise last week when the magazine published an item on "The Cost of College" without clearly identifying the writer as the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.

Walter Cronkite Biography Reveals His Dark Side

Madeleine Crum | Posted 05.23.2012 | Books

A new biography of Walter Cronkite reveals the less trustworthy side of the most trusted man in America. The CBS anchor is remembered as a media gi...

Correction: Climate Change Is a Fact

David Johnson | Posted 06.23.2012 | Media
David Johnson

If journalism can't help save the world, then why in the world should the world care about saving journalism -- at least this kind of journalism? Prove that you are smart enough to be trusted with the shield of humanity that you say you deserve.

Real Reporting Does Not Include Hollywood

Leslie Griffith | Posted 06.11.2012 | Media
Leslie Griffith

In the U.K., news "anchors" are called "presenters." It's high time we make that distinction here in America as well.

Media Need to Establish Clear Ethics Codes on Using, Posting Tweets

Jerry Lanson | Posted 06.19.2012 | Media
Jerry Lanson

Most journalism organizations have clear, blanket policies: Don't steal other people's work, don't serve on your school board when you're covering education, don't endorse presidential candidates. But rules for Twitter are murkier, if articulated at all.

Flawed Pleas for Overlooked Causes

Edward Wasserman | Posted 05.27.2012 | Media
Edward Wasserman

In the news have been two unusual stories, both of them exposing outrageous abuse of innocents abroad, neither one broken by what we normally consider the news media.

A Counterpoint to the View From Everywhere

Caryl Rivers | Posted 01.07.2012 | Media
Caryl Rivers

Should we abandon the tradition of journalism that calls for the nearest approach possible to balance and fairness? That's the argument made by NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen.

Where Do Media Draw the Line on Ethics During Revolutions?

Magda Abu-Fadil | Posted 12.27.2011 | Media
Magda Abu-Fadil

"Did TV networks overdo it by airing bloody scenes of Gaddafi's death?" The headline said it all in a lead article in the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat's media supplement Thursday.

Katherine Fung

Should The New York Times Have Fired This Man?

HuffingtonPost.com | Katherine Fung | Posted 10.08.2011 | Media

A trip to Jamaica turned Mike Albo's world upside down. In October 2009, Albo had an enviable gig, writing the New York Times' "Critical Shopper" c...