Ethics
Why editorial ethics are important
The Media Helping Media ethics section is designed to help journalists navigate some of the challenges they might face as they go about their work.
Accuracy in journalism
Precision is the soul of journalism. Rule one is simple: get it right. If you can't respect the absolute need for accuracy, this isn't the career for you.
Integrity and journalism
Without integrity your journalism is untrustworthy and suspect. Integrity is essential if a journalist wants to investigate issues, shine a light in dark places, and to dig where others don't.
Fairness in journalism
Fairness in journalism means exploring all sides of an issue and reporting the findings accurately.
Offence and journalism
Rigorous journalism inevitably offends some audiences. Global broadcasters must cover all aspects of human experience to reflect world affairs accurately.
Impartiality in journalism
For journalists, being impartial means presenting information without demonstrating favouritism towards any specific viewpoint or party.
Conflicts of interest
In journalism, public trust is essential for credibility. One of the most significant threats to that trust are the many possible conflicts of interest that might confront journalists.
Unconscious bias and journalism
Bias is a prejudice for or against a group, often leading to unfair judgements. While it's a normal human trait, understanding our biases is vital for fairness.
Is your journalism ethical?
Reliable journalism is based on applying strict editorial ethics to all we do so that we can examine the issues that have the most impact on the lives of our audience.
Respecting privacy as a journalist
Journalists must balance privacy rights with the need for rigorous, robust investigation into matters of public interest.
Photojournalism and ethics
The following are commonly accepted ethical guidelines for photojournalists adopted by most mainstream media.
Related learning resources
Respecting privacy in news
Journalists must balance privacy with robust public interest reporting. This might require necessary and justified interference to ensure thorough coverage.
Managing conflicts of interest
Use this checklist to manage conflicts of interest and protect your journalistic integrity. It's designed to maintain audience trust and professional standards.
Workshop: Privacy in journalism
Modern journalism must balance public interest and privacy in a 24/7 digital news cycle. Learn how ethical reporters decide what to publish.
Lesson: The importance of editorial ethics
This lesson plan is designed to help journalists understand the importance of applying editorial ethics to their newsgathering and news production.
Lesson: Conflicts of interest in journalism
This lesson plan emphasises the importance of understanding, identifying, and avoiding journalistic conflicts of interest in order to maintain editorial integrity and public trust.