Ethics

Our ethics section covers the issues journalists face when producing robust and accurate journalism. Visit our site map to see the complete list of articles.

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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.

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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.

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Unconscious bias and journalism

Bias is a prejudice or favour for or against an individual or group. It is often an inaccurate and unfair judgement. We are all biased. It’s normal, although it is not desirable.

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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.

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Fairness in journalism

Fairness in journalism means exploring all sides of an issue and reporting the findings accurately.

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Respecting privacy as a journalist

Journalists face a difficult balancing act. They must respect privacy, but they must also investigate issues that are in the public interest.

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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.