REPORTING, CODE OF ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM

"Code of Ethics" taken from another local news source.


FAIRNESS

Report all sides of a story. We are upfront with readers about what we don’t know and about evidence that contradicts the main finding of a news story.

Give people accused of wrongdoing a full and immediate opportunity to respond to all charges. We also report the final outcome of such allegations — for example, the verdict after an arrest — and give the outcome comparable play to the original story.

GUIDING QUESTIONS
What if the person accused of wrongdoing in a story were your mother? Would you feel the story was fair?

What were the methods you used to get a story or photo? Would you be comfortable defending your conduct?


CRIME REPORTING

When we write about people accused of wrongdoing, we provide them an opportunity to respond. That effort should include seeking comments from defense attorneys, family members and friends.

We use sparingly such phrases as “unavailable for comment'' or “could not be reached.'' We do so only after we have worked hard to reach suspects, their attorneys and others with a stake in the story.

GUIDING QUESTIONS
Have we given accused persons a chance to defend themselves?
Have we made serious efforts to reach a defense attorney?

Have we also sought comments and reaction from relatives, co-workers and friends?

Are we withholding the name of suspect, victim or witness because of age, safety concerns, the nature of the crime or other privacy concerns? Has a deputy managing editor approved withholding the name?

Are the allegations provably true? Are we attributing allegations to records or testimony, and have we accurately represented the material?

Are we writing about an incident only because the suspect is a public figure or connected to a public figure? Does this incident say something about the public figure that the community should know?


More available at the Society of Professional Journalism Site below
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

So let me ask you Mr. Carter, what if it had been your mother? Would it be fair? Would it be newsworthy enough to make breaking news? Would you have more consideration for her than you do for the people of our community that you supposedly have an obligation and a responsibility to? Just asking...