In association with Fojo Media Institute, Linnaeus University, Sweden

Ethics

Our ethics section examines the professional standards that guide responsible journalism. Explore principles of impartiality, fairness, accuracy, and journalistic integrity while also learning to navigate challenging ethical dilemmas journalists face in their daily work. All our material is free to download, adapt and use. Scroll down our site map for all the content in this and other sections.

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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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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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Offence and journalism

Rigorous journalism inevitably offends some audiences. Global broadcasters must cover all aspects of human experience to reflect world affairs accurately.
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Respecting privacy as a journalist

Journalists must balance privacy rights with the need for rigorous, robust investigation into matters of public interest.
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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.
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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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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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Photojournalism and ethics

The following are commonly accepted ethical guidelines for photojournalists adopted by most mainstream media.
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Basics

Militaristic words used in journalism

Here we look at some of the most common militaristic words that are regularly used in journalism, along with their intended meaning and possible non-militaristic alternatives.
Scenarios

Public interest – scenario

This scenario looks at some of the issues that need to be considered when deciding whether a story is in the public interest.
Advanced

Making documentaries for radio

Documentaries are in-depth stories told in a more interesting way. A great documentary engages listeners and puts them at the heart of the storytelling.
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