Articles by admin

Ethics of purging archives: An editor once asked the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists if there are any ethical requirements to honor requests to delete stories. An AdviceLine ethicist decided a newspaper should not help people remove information from the historical record. And it’s expensive to do that.   Visit […]

Collaboration journalism: Local media in the U.K., Italy and Finland turn to teamwork to confront declining revenues and shrinking staffs, writes Christine Schmidt. It’s “true-blue teamwork using the skills, abilities, tech, and yeah, money pooled between entities to ideally do journalism with a much more powerful punch,” she writes.   […]

Media climate coverage deemed lacking: Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope charge media with ignoring it. “This journalistic failure has given rise to a calamitous public ignorance, which in turn has enabled politicians and corporations to avoid action,” they write. They call for “Paul Revere” responsibilities to awaken, inform and rouse […]

Wall Street Journal tames online commentary: Select articles will be open for audience posts, writes Louise Story, to encourage “thoughtful discourse.” Aims to focus on “original comments,” not on boisterous “repliers” who don’t read the articles.   Visit the Ethics AdviceLine blog for more.

Key demographic trends: Hispanics are expected to be the largest racial or ethnic minority in the next election, write Anthony Cilluffo and D’Vera Cohn, according to the Pew Research Center. This was one of six demographic trends that included findings on American adult generations, unmarried parents, immigration and household income. […]

Tips for resisting fake news: “The way our memory works means it might be impossible to resist fake news completely,” writes Julian Matthews. Think like a scientist: Ask what type of content it is, where it is published and who benefits.   Visit the Ethics AdviceLine blog for more.

Student reporters covering shootings: The threat of an active shooter on campus confronts student journalists with a perfect storm, writes Maitreyi Anantharaman. There isn’t time to be scared. The erosion of local newsrooms forces college publications to step in as papers of record, she writes.   Visit the Ethics […]

Newsweek seeks ethics advice: The historic news magazine retains the Poynter Institute to review its standards, ethics and processes, causing an uptick in calls from journalists and newsrooms seeking help with ethics issues.   Visit the Ethics AdviceLine blog for more.

Journalists engaged in communities preferred: The Pew Research Center finds urban and rural residents want news from journalists personally engaged in their communities, writes Elizabeth Grieco. Urban resident say journalists are more likely to cover their areas, and see certain local news topics as important for daily life. They also […]

Ethics of stock imagery: Using old images with new stories is not ethical journalism, Mark E. Johnson tells Jack Kelly. It’s like using generic quotes in a story. Visuals attached to stories increase engagement, writes Kelly. But “photojournalists and visual journalists are often the first members of a newsroom to […]