SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS/SIGMA DELTA CHI CODE OF ETHICS
The Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, believes the duty of journalists
is to serve the truth.
We BELIEVE the agencies of mass communication are carriers of public discussion and
information, acting on
their Constitutional mandate and freedom to learn and report the facts. We BELIEVE in
public enlightenment as
the forerunner of justice, and in our Constitutional role to seek the truth as part of the
public's right to know the
truth. We BELIEVE those responsibilities carry obligations that require journalists to
perform with intelligence,
objectivity, accuracy and fairness.
To these ends, we declare acceptance of the standards of practice set forth:
I. RESPONSIBILITY
The public's right to know of events of public importance and interest is the overriding
mission of the mass
media. The purpose of distributing news and enlightened opinion is to serve the general
welfare. Journalists
who use their professional status as representatives of the public for selfish or other
unworthy motives violate a
high trust.
II. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
Freedom of the press is to be guarded as an inalienable right of people in a free society.
It carries with it the
freedom and the responsibility to discuss, question, and challenge actions and utterances
of our government
and of our public and private institutions. Journalists uphold the right to speak
unpopular opinions and the
privilege to agree with the majority.
III. ETHICS
Journalists must be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to
know the truth.
Gifts, favors, free travel, special treatment or privileges can compromise the integrity
of journalists and their
employers. Nothing of value should be accepted.
Secondary employment, political involvement, holding public office, and service in
community organizations
should be avoided if it compromises the integrity of journalists and their employers.
Journalists and their
employers should conduct their personal lives in a manner that protects them from conflict
of interest, real or
apparent. Their responsibilities to the public are paramount. That is the nature of their
profession.
So-called news communications from private sources should not be published or broadcast
without
substantiation of their claims to news values. Journalists will seek news that serves the
public interest, despite
the obstacles. They will make constant efforts to assure that the public's business is
conducted in public and
that public records are open to public inspection.
Journalists acknowledge the newsman's ethic of protecting confidential sources of
information.
Plagiarism is dishonest and unacceptable.
IV. ACCURACY AND OBJECTIVITY
Good faith with the public is the foundation of all worthy journalism.
Truth is our ultimate goal.
Objectivity in reporting the news is another goal that serves as the mark of an
experienced professional. It is a
standard of performance toward which we strive. We honor those who achieve it.
There is no excuse for inaccuracies or lack of thoroughness.
Newspaper headlines should be fully warranted by the contents of the articles they
accompany. Photographs
and telecasts should give an accurate picture of an event and not highlight an incident
out of context.
Sound practice makes clear distinction between news reports and expressions of opinion.
News reports should
be free of opinion or bias and represent all sides of an issue. Partisanship in editorial
comment that knowingly
departs from the truth violates the spirit of American journalism.
Journalists recognize their responsibility for offering informed analysis, comment, and
editorial opinion on
public events and issues. They accept the obligation to represent such material by
individuals whose
competence, experience, and judgment qualify them for it. Special articles or presentation
devoted to advocacy
or the writer's own conclusions and interpretations should be labeled as such.
V. FAIR PLAY
Journalists at all times will show respect for the dignity, privacy, rights, and
well-being of people encountered in
the course of gathering and presenting the news.
The news media should not communicate unofficial charges affecting reputation or moral
character without
giving the accused a chance to reply. The news media must guard against invading a
person's right to privacy.
The media should not pander to morbid curiosity about details of vice and crime.
It is the duty of news media to make prompt and complete correction of their errors.
Journalists should be accountable to the public for their reports and the public should be
encouraged to voice
its grievances against the media. Open dialogue with our readers, viewers, and listeners
should be fostered.
VI. PLEDGE
Adherence to this code is intended to preserve and strengthen the bond of mutual trust and
respect between
American journalists and the American people.
The Society shall -- by programs of education and other means -- encourage individual
journalists to adhere to
these tenets, and shall encourage journalistic publications and broadcasters to recognize
their responsibility to
frame codes of ethics in concert with their employees to serve as guidelines in furthering
these goals.
The Society of Professional Journalists also has published an ethics guide called
"Doing Ethics in Journalism,
A Handbook with Case Studies" by Jay Black, Bob Steele and Ralph Barney (1993). For
information on how to
get the book, contact the Society at P.O. Box 77, 16 South Jackson St., Greencastle, IN
46135-0077. The
Telephone number is (317) 653-3333.
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