Ethics AdviceLine

Poynter deletes list of unreliable sites: Poynter Institute says it “messed up” in calling 515 websites unreliable without checking the facts, reports Sydney Smith. “These lapses are surprising given Poynter’s reputation and position as a vaunted journalism education organization,” writes Smith. Poynter admitted using lists compiled by others. Blames “methodology.” […]

SF police raid journalist’s home: The incident involving a freelance videographer raises concerns over a journalist’s rights, reports Rachel Swan. Police and federal agents broke into the freelancer’s home in search of the identification of a news source.   Visit the Ethics AdviceLine blog for more.

Journalists a rare sighting: The Pew Research Center finds 21 percent of Americans never spoke with a local journalist, writes Elizabeth Grieco. Americans who have spoken with a journalist are a bit more likely than those who have not to say local news media do a very good job.   […]

Community asset newspaper: The Salt Lake Tribune is seeking Internal Revenue Service approval to become a nonprofit community asset supported by donations, writes Tony Semerad. The move by the 148-year-old privately owned publication would mark the first attempt by a legacy U.S. daily to switch to nonprofit status as advertising […]

Parting company with Facebook: Journalists working with the giant tech platform is a Faustian bargain, writes Mathew Ingram: “The benefits of doing business with Facebook don’t begin to outweigh the ethical compromises required to do so.” Ingram asks: “How much of what you are doing serves (Facebook’s) interests rather than […]

Identifying who funds studies: iMediaEthics reports on NPR’s efforts to identify conflicts of interest because many journal studies end up hidden behind a paywall and readers can’t always find the source material.   Visit the Ethics AdviceLine blog for more.

It’s the ads, stupid!: Warren Buffett tells Yahoo Finance that “ads are news to people.” News is “what you don’t know that you want to know says the finance wizard in a report by Sam Ro. People already know what happened in sports, politics and the stock market. Advertising fat […]

Covering mental health: Do more stories on successful mental health treatment, advises Kelly McBride. Often experts are wrong. Ask how they know that’s the right term, she writes. Visit the Ethics AdviceLine blog for more.

What #MeToo means to ethical journalism: Three “tragedies” lurk in the tech workplace, finds Claudia Meyere-Samargia while covering a University of Wisconsin ethics conference. Quoting tech journalist Kara Swisher, they are lack of self-awareness and reflection, believing that money equates social good and having the inability to empathize with people […]

News bundling: Apple News Plus is a big test for selling access to many news sources through one platform at one price, writes Mark Jacob. It’s an acceleration of a business model in which consumers pay, says Tim Franklin. But is it a good deal for publishers and for news […]