Personal Code of Ethics

1. Be Truthful
- This is perhaps the most important value I can adhere to as a journalist. Citizens read journalists’ work only upon the belief that the journalists are writing the truth. It is an implicit promise made to readers/audience by journalists. It is important that I do not fallaciously parade material as the truth. There is a saying, accuracy is not always the truth. It is essential that I take great care in reporting the whole story and not leave out true, substantive pieces of a story.
- “We cannot be less than honest, we cannot be less than true, we cannot be less than virtuous if we are to keep sacred the trust given us. Once it was said among our people that a man’s word was as good as his bond. Shall any of us be less reliable, less honest than our forebears? Those who are living the principle of honesty know that the Lord does bless them. Theirs is the precious right to hold their heads in the sunlight of truth, unashamed before any man” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, We Believe in Being Honest).
- It is only by being completely truthful, that I can be trusted as a source of light for the public.

2. Make the Truth Comprehensive
- This guideline obviously goes along with the latter because what is the truth if the vast majority of citizens cannot understand it? It is crucial that upon obtaining newsworthy truth, that I carefully and coherently piece it together. I need to do as The New York Times did with the Afghan and Pentagon papers, I need to carefully and earnestly, take the time to compile and draft the truth in an engaging and comprehensive manner.

3. Engage the Public
- It is imperative that I remember who I work for – citizens. I feel I can engage citizens in two central ways. The first – by reporting news to the public that enlightens them about the world around them and in turn, sets ablaze a desire for them to interact with their government or other leaders. The second way I feel I need to engage the public is by establishing a public forum. I can do this as I give voice to multiple sides of an issue, not necessarily equal time to all sides, but I need to provide a spectrum of opinions.
- “A newspaper that does not challenge its community’s values and preconceptions will lose respect for failing to provide the honesty and leadership that newspapers are expected to offer” (Jack Fuller, CCJ Forum).
- “To be at once the enabler and goad of community action is a great challenge” (The Elements of Journalism).

4. Be at the Forefront of New Technology
- Technology is constantly changing and the way society communicates is rapidly evolving. It is vital that I keep my finger on the pulse of this change. I need keep myself up to date and trained with new technology. It is essential that this be part of my personal code of conduct if I truly want to maximize the number of people that I am able to inform and provoke.
- We should be anxious to “use technology where it can best serve, but we must first understand the technology and know how it can be used” (Paul Koelliker as quoted in The Church and Computers: Using Tools the Lord Has Provided).

5. Fulfill the Watchdog Role
- I must serve as an independent monitor of power. I must not pick and choose which officials to investigate and which to simply ignore. I need to spend the time that I do investigative reporting wisely and decide which individuals and occurrences if investigated, would serve the public most valuably. As I report on investigations, I need to steer clear from emotion-based reporting and stick to the facts concerning the investigation. A key component for me to fulfill the watchdog role is to maintain an insatiable curiosity and never cease to ask “why?”
- “Yea, behold I do not fear your power nor your authority, but it is my God whom I fear; and it is according to his commandments that I do take my sword to defend the cause of my country, and it is because of your iniquity that we have suffered so much loss” (Alma 60:28).

6. Advocate
- There is always an oppressed group or individual who is waiting for the world to hear their cries. My responsibility is to give an independent voice to these individuals when applicable. It is important that I do not exploit – however unintentionally – individuals’ sufferings to strictly gain emotional appeal or to elevate my public image. I should be ever so careful in my associations with victims – to be respectful and compassionate and maintain no other role than of reporter.
- “My prayer is that we will follow the example of the Man of Galilee, who could be found mingling with the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, and the afflicted” (Thomas S. Monson in Canaries with Gray on Their Wings).
- “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6).

7. Be Accountable
- I know that I am not faultless; at times I will not live up to my personal code of ethics. When at all necessary, I need to own up to my shortcomings and be willing to accept the necessary repercussions. Also as a journalist, it is my responsibility to admit to any personal biases or ties that may taint the neutrality of my reporting.
- If I report on an individual or a group that has been charged with criminal acts, I need to continue to cover the individual/group and inform the public whether the charges were acquitted or if they were convicted. To not do so would be doing the public and the individual/group a great disservice.
- “I think it’s possible to be an honest journalist and be loyal to a cause. It’s not really possible to be an honest journalist and be loyal to a person, a political party or a faction” (Maggie Gallagher, CCJ Forum).

8. Be Continuously Educated
- “The smarter the journalists are, the better off society is. To a degree, people read the press to inform themselves – and the better the teacher, the better the student body” (Warren Buffett).
- If I am going to teach (through reporting) the public about a religion’s beliefs and practices or the complexities of a war, I need to thoroughly know what I am talking about. I can do this by reading, lots of reading and talking to sources who are highly-educated on the subject at hand. I must be careful to become educated through a variety of sources, thus to enhance my understanding and be protected against erroneous material.

Weaving In Faith

Since faith is a key component in many Americans’ everyday lives, it deserves a more prominent place in the news than that which it currently holds. Newspapers don’t need to compile a new section or column (not that it would be a bad idea too) but reporters need to weave faith into their reporting. Bill Keller, the executive editor of The New York Times said, “I think the key is to be more alert to the role religion plays in many stories we cover, stories of politics and policy, national and local, stories of social trends and family life, stories of how we live. Good journalism entails understanding more than just the neighborhood you grew up in” (pg. 83, Mind). Religion-based reports don’t have to be so obvious as Lutherans Welcome Seven Gay Pastors. I agree with Keller and think that reporters should write about religion in the context of role it plays in stories from politics to stories about how we live. They don’t need to over cover religion but they should not ignore religion all together.

I think religion and faith is not covered to its deserved extent in America because it is a complicated subject for journalists to write about. Only one out of three of our assigned books for this class have a chapter devoted to faith. As Katia Bachko put it in her article Tongue Tied on Religion, “Reporting on religion is a difficult task, if reporters are going to take up the task of explaining beliefs to their readers and viewers, they should do it with care.”

President Obama's Cairo speech on Muslim-U.S. relations was voted the #1 religion story of the year.

We learned in class there are many questions that a journalist has to answer in order to take care when covering stories related to faith and religion. Such as, Can you insert general values into news stories? This question was tested in the clip that Professor Campbell showed in class of a BYU alumni that used a quote from a prophet regarding the importance of success in the family unit.

I didn’t feel that he was attempting to insert a value into his news story with the quote but that he was just trying to portray the way a man lived his life. My perception changed however, when I saw his status update on Facebook, in which he rejoiced in his use of a quote by David O. McKay on air. This made me feel that this reporter was indeed inserting a value (one that he delights in) into his news story. Now the big question is, “Is this ok?” I think it would have been alright if he would have introduced the so-called saying with “There is a quote I really like that declares…” Without such an introduction his use of the quote is commentary parading as reporting.

Is that my conscience talking?

“In the end journalism is an act of character” (The Elements of Journalism, page 230). That measure of character is put to the test every day. As we learned towards the end of class today, some of those instances where the character of a journalist is put to the test provides considerable dilemmas. Take for example, Arthur Ash. USA Today phoned him and asked if he had AIDS, he would neither confirm or deny it and USA Today responded by saying they were going to publish the story with or without his support. They were just looking for a legitimate source. The next day Ash held a press conference himself admitting that he had AIDS (derived from a blood transfusion during surgery) and felt bullied into his confession by the press.

I love the checklist we received as a handout in class because I think it covers all ground when it comes to ethics and the media. In this particular case I feel the big ethical dilemma is between #6, Who are the stakeholders –those affected my decision? What are their motivations? Which are legitimate and #8, What are the possible consequences of my actions? Short term? Long term?

These are great philosophical questions that really get down to the essence of character in journalism. There is a whole chapter devoted to character in Elements, entitled Journalists Have a Responsibility to Conscience. I completely agree with that statement and I think that journalists should have the constant opportunity to exercise that responsibility to conscience openly with others by having debates with others in the newsroom of whether or not pushing a story or revealing a source is ethical. With that, there should be an open forum in the newsroom for employees to express feelings about the ethics of their own business. I believe when such a forum occurs, employees are able to realize that many of their colleagues from all different departments share the same concerns and questions. Such an open forum may have stopped fallacious journalists such as Jayson Blair of The New York Times and Stephen Glass of The New Republic. Check out The New York Times ten page article covering one of their own, well formally one of their own, the infamous Jayson Blair.
And don’t miss this extensive, contemporary report on Ethics for the new investigative newsroom: A Roundtable Report on best practices for nonprofit journalism. Nonprofit journalism is debatably the most promising and innovative solution to the search for a new model of journalism, thanks to the ingenious ProPublica.

Beware of the Watchdog

Listen to what the public officials are saying and see if their actions match their words. In essence, that is the responsibility of a watchdog journalist but through class discussions and assigned readings, it becomes apparent that the definition of the watchdog role is much more complex.

The Elements of Journalism gives three different types of reporting that watchdog journalists use, they are - original and investigative reporting and reporting on investigations. I think the first two are the most important out of the three because it involves reporters exposing previously unknown information and presenting it in a way that can be understood by the public. A terrific example of this is Daniel Ellsburg’s uncovering, and The New York Times’ interpretation and presentation of The Pentagon Papers.



However, it is apparent in journalism textbooks and everyday life that the role of the watchdog is weakening in America. This is because “too much of the new ‘investigative’ reporting is tabloid treatment of everyday circumstance” (151, The Elements of Journalism). Check out such’ investigating’ reporting from msnbc on ‘Dirty Ice'.

I thought Gan’s eight “enduring values” were incredibly enlightening. It is so true how every news article relates to at least one of the eight values. This article on how the Oil Rig’s Siren Was Kept Silent in today’s New York Times most definitely falls under the Responsible Capitalism value because it is not responsible business ethics.

The New York Times article is also a great example of watchdog journalism, keeping companies like BP in check. It serves as a reminder of why “the role of the press as activist, reformer and exposer” is still needed today (139, The Elements of Journalism).

good night, and good luck.

As a film enthusiast it was a cinematic treat to watch George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck. As a student in a journalism class, it was very interesting and refreshing to see the principles of journalism make the jump from textbooks to the screen, as they were portrayed in real life examples of true journalism at play in a very exciting time.

Under considerable trust derived from CBS president William Paley, Edward R. Murrow and his staff at CBS gave a voice to the powerless as they inflicted the comfortable, Joseph McCarthy. In taking on McCarthy, Murrow and others took great effort to maintain a strong sense of journalistic independence.

In the beginning of the film Murrow states, “We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Murrow “tackled the complicated and unobvious” and presented them in a manner that the public could comprehend (The Press, page 70). Our mass media reflect this”. Murrow would not concede to as The Elements of Journalism calls it, “journalism of affirmation”. In this case, Murrow refused to affirm the idea that McCarthy’s allegations contained any truth. However this refusal to affirm McCarthy’s allegations came at a cost. Murrow and Fred Friendly paid for CBS’s newspaper advertisement for the program, lost sponsorship and risked being named a “communist” by McCarthy. In doing so, Murrow and his staff at CBS made it clear that their first loyalty as journalists was to citizens.



In their efforts to enlighten the public by challenging McCarthy’s accusations, Murrow and his staff had to walk a fine line to be independent. They first had to make sure everyone who would be involved in challenging McCarthy was “clean”. This means that they had to have no Communist ties, however small it may be. This precaution was put into place because they knew that as journalists, they “must maintain an independence from those they cover” (The Elements of a Journalist, page 118). Murrow and his staff did not want their reporting to be accused of any biases, this is a precaution that is still practiced in newsrooms today and is taken quite seriously. For example, CNN’s firing of Octavia Nasr for her twitter that jeopardized her independence from her covering of the Middle East. In a time when communist “witch-hunts” were in full swing, Murrow’s producers knew it was crucial that their staff maintain an independence in practice.

Adhering to the elements of the liberal model of journalism, Murrow and his staff made a strong attempt to present themselves as politically neutral. This was seen as the US military was allowed to comment on the firing of Milo Radulovich, an alleged communist. At the pinnacle of their efforts to maintain political neutrality Murrow gave McCarthy himself, time to make unrestricted comments on his program. Murrow exhibited sincere journalistic neutrality as he consistently gave the opportunity to McCarthy to comment on or challenge his reporting. Such a determined effort to present the news in an unbiased manner is a key component of the liberal model of journalism.

Murrow and his staff could have never engaged in such a televised conflict with McCarthy had it not been for the independence granted to them by CBS president William Paley. Paley indeed exhibited the five characteristics that current news companies that have not yet been defeated share, namely: The owner/corporation must be committed citizens first and Journalists must have the final say over the news (The Elements of Journalism). Paley exhibited these characteristics as he allowed Murrow and his staff to air reports on controversial and uncomfortable topics, even when allowing the airing of such reports made Paley himself, extremely uncomfortable.

Verify Verify Verify

It is amazing how much the news has changed in the last fifteen years. The pressure to get the "scoop", write it up and post it is more apparent than ever. All this competition is good. It pushes journalists to be at the top of their game and to push themselves. Unfortunately, in the midst of all of this the crucial practice of verification can slip and even be dropped completely.

The in class example from The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a terrific example of how journalists will jump on the bandwagon, reporting information whose only verification is a loose word of mouth. As said in class, "they report just for the sake of reporting it".

The guest speaker Don Hudson from ABC4 brought up a point that I hadn't thought about during the assigned reading or the group's presentation. He said he couldn't think of anyone that pledges allegiance to a certain news group simply because they have the story first. That is so true. Online I just click on whatever headline I see first, no matter the accompanied news organization. But the story I want, the story I will search for, is the in-depth article detailing that story or headline. And that kinda story only comes when journalists dig deep and practice gruelling verification.

A slip in verification could be something small but it could also swing the other way. An associate editor at The Oregonian told me that in one horrific case they posted that a person had died, when he or she were really only injured. Though it was only online for less than a minute, it is a reminder of how critical the process of verification is, even if it causes one to be second with a story.

Find out why Corrections Aren't Just For Journalists Anymore

A Complex and Binding Profession

In The Mind of A Journalist journalism is compared to a priesthood. When one gives it thought, it is easy to see why journalists would be compared to one who is authorized to perform sacred acts. Journalists are bound by tight covenants. With the reader, the journalist promises accuracy and the truth in return for a reading. With a source, the journalist at times promises confidentiality in return for powerful information. This passing of information could put a source on "the chopping block" if the journalist were to reveal that he or she is the source. A most notable example of a journalist diligently adhering to such a covenant is Judith Miller, who went to prison for eighty-five days to protect her source, Scooter Libby.



Judith Miller upon being released from prison. Miller is currently advocating a federal shield law that would protect journalists from having to reveal sources. Read her article, In Prison Without A Shield.

I agree with the idea that the profession of journalism is like the fourth branch of government. Journalists keep those in power in check, through the information they provide citizens. It is very much a public service.

Parisa Khosravi, a CNN senior vice president is a very recent example of how "sacred" the calling of a journalist is. After tweeting that she respected Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, CNN gave her the axe. This extremely contemporary example shows how seriously news organizations take the profession of a journalist. And how it can only take 140 characters to send a journalist packing.

While I don't hold the calling of a journalist anywhere near the calling of a priesthood holder called of God, I do sincerely respect the role that journalists play in society and the service they give.