What Happens When You Write Your Own Journalism Code of Ethics?

Sometimes, journalists like to think of ethics as concrete standards, but the reality is a lot more fluid than that.

The evolving reporting practices related to fact-checking, social media, photo sourcing, and content aggregation have blurred the lines for what journalists should and shouldn’t do. Thomas Kent, standards editor for The Associated Press, decided to do something about the ambiguous nature of media ethics. And as a result, those looking for a solution can now turn to the Online News Association’s “Build Your Own Ethics Code” project.

At ONA’s 2014 conference in Chicago, Kent, who is the leader of the project, said he sees the initiative as a way to help others feel a sense of ownership over their own policies. Build Your Own Ethics Code grew out of a workshop from ONA’s 2013 conference and is a collaborative effort created by about 20 writers and editors with help from crowdsourced feedback. Since coming to an ethical consensus can lead to contention, those working on the project referred to 19 different ethics codes as points of reference. Anyone can access the links in a Google document.

To set common ground, the project takes certain fundamentals for granted, assuming many would agree on standards such as honesty, accuracy, professional conduct, fairness, and avoiding (or disclosing) conflicts of interest.

Beyond these basics is when many disagreements begin to arise. Should all journalists strive for objectivity, or is point-of-view reporting acceptable? What rules must be upheld when interviewing children? Which approaches are best for covering suicide? What types of policies should be established for the acceptance of gifts or freebies? How can quotations be edited? Are online comments a reflection of the site that runs them, and does each publisher have an obligation to allow them?

Other sticky ethical issues the project hopes to address include verification and accuracy of information (including user-generated content), contributor safety, rights and legal issues, the well-being of journalists, workflow, and resources. The next step for the project is to turn it into a functional web interface rather than a shared Google document, allowing users to build their own codes directly.

The Society for Professional Journalists recently revamped their code of ethics for the first time since 1996. And a few weeks ago, the Columbia Journalism Review covered two ethics hotlines following SPJ standards and mentioned that “other journalism societies recognize a need to discuss dilemmas with peers too, one example being the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors’ internal hotline, where members ask questions and debate ethics in an online forum.”

Codes of ethics, hotlines, online courses, and even a new computer game—aptly titled Decisions on Deadline—are all available to independent journalists. Freelancers are typically required to follow newsroom codes of conduct, but these don’t apply in all circumstances.

Perhaps the future of journalism ethics will be cloaked in a shade of gray. Many reporters want to do the right thing, but for now, the difference between right and wrong really just depends on whom you ask.