Ethics in Editing
Ethics in Editing
According to Google, ethics are “a set of moral principles, esp. ones relating to or affirming a specific group, field, or form of conduct”. Three important ethical codes in editing or journalism is fairness, responsibility, and useful sources. The fairness ethical code from Los Angeles Times Newspaper states, “A fair-minded reader of Times news coverage should not be able to discern the private opinions of those who contributed to that coverage, or to infer that the newspaper is promoting any agenda. A crucial goal of our news and feature reporting – apart from editorials, columns, criticism and other content that is expressly opinionated – is to be nonideological. This is a tall order. It requires us to recognize our own biases and stand apart from them. It also requires us to examine the ideological environment in which we work, for the biases of our sources, our colleagues and our communities can distort our sense of objectivity. In covering controversial issues – strikes, abortion, gun control and the like – we seek out intelligent, articulate views from all perspectives. Reporters should try genuinely to understand all points of view, rather than simply grab quick quotations to create a semblance of balance. People who will be shown in an adverse light in an article must be given a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves. This means making a good-faith effort to give the subject of allegations or criticism sufficient time and information to respond substantively. Whenever possible, the reporter should meet face-to-face with the subject in a sincere effort to understand his or her best arguments”. (http://latimes.image2.trb.com/lanews/media/acrobat/2005-07/18479691.pdf). Responsibility is another ethical statement from the Associated Press Media Editors website. It states, “The good newspaper is fair, accurate, honest, responsible, independent and decent. Truth is its guiding principle.It avoids practices that would conflict with
According to Google, ethics are “a set of moral principles, esp. ones relating to or affirming a specific group, field, or form of conduct”. Three important ethical codes in editing or journalism is fairness, responsibility, and useful sources. The fairness ethical code from Los Angeles Times Newspaper states, “A fair-minded reader of Times news coverage should not be able to discern the private opinions of those who contributed to that coverage, or to infer that the newspaper is promoting any agenda. A crucial goal of our news and feature reporting – apart from editorials, columns, criticism and other content that is expressly opinionated – is to be nonideological. This is a tall order. It requires us to recognize our own biases and stand apart from them. It also requires us to examine the ideological environment in which we work, for the biases of our sources, our colleagues and our communities can distort our sense of objectivity. In covering controversial issues – strikes, abortion, gun control and the like – we seek out intelligent, articulate views from all perspectives. Reporters should try genuinely to understand all points of view, rather than simply grab quick quotations to create a semblance of balance. People who will be shown in an adverse light in an article must be given a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves. This means making a good-faith effort to give the subject of allegations or criticism sufficient time and information to respond substantively. Whenever possible, the reporter should meet face-to-face with the subject in a sincere effort to understand his or her best arguments”. (http://latimes.image2.trb.com/lanews/media/acrobat/2005-07/18479691.pdf). Responsibility is another ethical statement from the Associated Press Media Editors website. It states, “The good newspaper is fair, accurate, honest, responsible, independent and decent. Truth is its guiding principle.It avoids practices that would conflict with