7. UNESCO List of Professional Journalism Ethics

University of Botswana

Department of Media Studies

BMS 226 ETHICS FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS

HANDOUT 7: UNESCO LIST OF  INTERNATIONAL PRINCIPLES

OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN JOURNALISM

Issued by the Consultative Club of International and Regional Organizations of Journalists in Paris in November 1983. 

Preamble

International and regional organizations of professional journalists, representing altogether 400,000 working journalists in all parts of the world, have held since 1978 consultative meetings under the auspices of UNESCO. [1]

The second consultative meeting (Mexico City, 1980) expressed its support for the UNESCO Declaration on Fundamental Principles concerning the Contribution of the Mass Media to strengthening Peace and International Understanding, to the Promotion of Human Rights and to Countering Racialism, Apartheid, and Incitement to War. Moreover, the meeting adopted the "Mexico Declaration" with a set of principles which represent common grounds of existing national and regional codes of journalistic ethics as well as relevant provisions contained in various international instruments of a legal nature. 

The fourth consultative meeting (Prague and Paris, 1983) noted the lasting value of the UNESCO Declaration in which it is stated inter alia that "the exercise of freedom of opinion, expression and information, recognized as an integral part of human rights and fundament freedoms, is a vital factor in the strengthening of peace and international understanding." Furthermore, the meeting recognized the important role which information and communication play in the contemporary world, both in national and international spheres, with a growing social responsibility being placed upon the mass media and journalists. 

On this basis the following principles of professional ethics in journalism were prepared as an international common ground and as a source of inspiration for national and regional codes of ethics. This set of principles is intended to be promoted autonomously by each professional organization through ways and means most adequate to its members. 

Principle I: People's right to true information

People and individuals have the right to acquire an objective picture of reality by means of accurate and comprehensive information as well as to express themselves freely through the various media of culture and communication. 

Principle II: The journalist's dedication to objective reality

The foremost task of the journalist is to serve the people's right to true and authentic information through an honest dedication to objective reality whereby facts are reported conscientiously in their proper context, pointing out their essential connections and without causing distortions, with due deployment of the creative capacity of the journalist, so that the public is provided with adequate material to facilitate the formation of an accurate and comprehensive picture of the world in which the origin, nature and essence of events, processes and state of affairs are understood as objectively as possible. 

Principle III: The journalist's social responsibility

Information in journalism is understood as a social good and not as a commodity, which means that the journalist shares responsibility for the information transmitted and is thus accountable not only to those controlling the media but ultimately to the public at large, including various social interests. The journalist's social responsibility requires that he or she will act under all circumstances in conformity with a personal ethical consciousness. 

Principle IV: The journalist's professional integrity

The social role of the journalist demands that the profession maintain high standards of integrity, including the journalist's right to refrain from working against his or her conviction or from disclosing sources of information as well as the right to participate in the decision-making of the medium in which he or she is employed. The integrity of the profession does not permit the journalist to accept any form of bribe or the promotion of any private interest contrary to the general welfare. Likewise, it belongs to professional ethics to respect intellectual property and, in particular, to refrain from plagiarism. 

Principle V: Public access and participation

The nature of the profession demands that the journalist promote access by the public to information and participation of the public in the media, including the right of correction or rectification and the right of reply. 

Principle VI: Respect for privacy and human dignity

An integral part of the professional standards of the journalists is respect for the right of the individual to privacy and human dignity, in conformity with provisions of international and national law concerning protection of the rights and the reputation of others, prohibiting libel, calumny, slander and defamation. 

Principle VII: Respect for public interest

The professional standards of the journalist prescribe due respect for the national community, its democratic institutions and public morals. 

Principle VIII: Respect for universal values and diversity of cultures

A true journalist stands for the universal values of humanism, above all peace, democracy, human rights, social progress and national liberation, while respecting the distinctive character, value and dignity of each culture, as well as the right of each people freely to choose and develop its political, social, economic and cultural systems. Thus the journalist participates actively in social transformation towards democratic betterment of society and contributes through dialogue to a climate of confidence in international relations conducive to peace and justice everywhere, to détente, disarmament and national development. It belongs to the ethics of the profession that the journalist be aware of relevant provisions contained in international conventions, declarations and resolutions. 

Principle IX: Elimination of war and other great evils confronting humanity

The ethical commitment to the universal values of humanism calls for the journalist to abstain from any justification for, or incitement to, wars of aggression and the arms race, especially in nuclear weapons, and all other forms of violence, hatred or discrimination, especially racialism and apartheid, oppression by tyrannic regimes, colonialism and neocolonialism, as well as other great evils which afflict humanity, such as poverty, malnutrition and diseases. By so doing, the journalist can help eliminate ignorance and misunderstanding among peoples, make nationals of a country sensitive to the needs and desires of others, ensure respect for the rights and dignity of all nations, all peoples and all individuals without distinction of race, sex, language, nationality, religion or philosophical conviction. 

Principle X: Promotion of a new world information and communication order

The journalist operates in the contemporary world within the framework of a movement towards new international relations in general and a new information order in particular. The new order, understood as an integral part of the New International Economic Order, is aimed at the decolonisation and democratization of information and communication, both nationally and internationally, on the basis of peaceful coexistence among peoples and with full respect for their cultural identity. The journalist has a special obligation to promote the process of democratization of international relations in the field of information, in particular by safeguarding and fostering peaceful and friendly relations among states and peoples.

 

[1] The following organizations participated: International Organization of Journalists (IOJ), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP), Latin American Federation of Journalists (FELAP), Latin American Federation of Press Workers (FELATRAP), Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ), Union of African Journalists (UAJ), and Confederation of Asean Journalists (CAJ). The IFJ did not attend the conclusive meeting of this process in Paris, 20 November 1983, which issued the document.

 

SOURCE: http://ethicnet.uta.fi/international/international_principles_of_professional_ethics_in_journalism

6. International Principles of Journalism Ethics

University of Botswana

Department of Media Studies

BMS 226 ETHICS FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS

HANDOUT 6: INTERNATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS FOR JOURNALISTS

What are the main concerns about journalism?

Journalists are very important in any society. They give us information about what is going on in the world and newspapers, radio and TV give space for people to discuss ideas and to make important decisions.

People get information about what is going on in the world from journalists. We do not have personal experience of the news. This applies to what is going on in the next village as well as in the next continent.

Journalists decide what is important – what to print or broadcast – and what is not. What journalists decide to leave out and not tell us is just as important as what they do tell us.

People must be able to trust journalists to do the right thing and tell the truth.

But unfortunately, there is a lot of concern that journalists are not behaving well and instead of giving us useful serious news they give us too much that is not serious. Such as the private lives of celebrities and other famous people. This tabloid journalism has given all journalism a bad name.

There are also worries that journalists are using bad methods – sometimes illegally – to get information. There was a big scandal recently in the UK about the News of the World newspaper that paid a private eye (private detective) to bug (listen in illegally) telephones to get private information about people.

International Principles of Professional Ethics in Journalism

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has drawn up the International Principles of Professional Ethics in Journalism, which talks about the rights and responsibilities of journalists. It has these principles:

Principle I: People’s right to true information

Principle II: The journalist’s dedication to objective reality

Principle III: The journalist’s social responsibility

Principle IV: The journalist’s professional integrity

Principle V: Public access and participation

Principle VI: Respect for privacy and human dignity

Principle VII: Respect for public interest

Principle VIII: Respect for universal values and diversity of cultures

Principle IX: Elimination of war and other great evils confronting humanity

Principle X: Promotion of a new world information and communication order

 (For more details, see Handout7).

Codes of Conduct

The UNESCO principles are only principles and are very difficult for journalists to act upon in their day-to-day work. Codes of ethical conduct are a more practical way to deal with ethics. 

Itai Himelboim and Yehiel Limor say codes of ethics are the most common way for journalists and other media professionals to declare the values that guide their work, show their role in society and establish the professional expectations (norms) they consider correct.

There are other ways to ensure journalists are accountable to the public. These include organisations (e.g. press councils) that regulate the way journalists and the companies they work for should behave.

Codes of ethics have a number of objectives, including making journalists look dignified in the eyes of the public and protecting journalists against the state making laws that might restrict the way journalists are able to work.

A voluntary ethical code shows that the media are committed to ethical behaviour. The codes can also define the rights as well as responsibilities of journalists. This can protect journalists from the owners of media companies who might want to exploit the journalists.

But because ethical codes are usually voluntary they can be difficult to enforce – there is no ‘law court’ to decide whether a journalist has not behaved in an ethical way and to inflict punishment if they have not.

It is difficult for an ethical code of conduct to cover all the possible cases journalists are likely to meet on the job. 

Denis McQuail says there are many different codes of ethical conduct, depending on the conventions and traditions of the country concerned and on who writes the code – whether it is publishers, editors, journalists or an external regulatory body.

Most codes concentrate on matters to do with providing reliable information and on avoiding distortion, suppression, bias, sensationalism and the invasion of privacy.

Codes of practice drawn up by publishers often include the need for freedom to publish and independence from groups who have their own (vested) interests, such as governments.

It is impossible to separate press responsibility from the media companies that produce journalism and the nation state and its political system and institutions. An authoritarian state which is ruled over by a single person or family or group will have a different view of journalism and will permit journalists to do less than a liberal pluralist (democratic state) that allows freedom of the press and different points of view to be expressed.

Reuters Handbook on codes of conduct

The Reuters international news agency has its own code of conduct for journalists.

Reuters journalists must be independent, free from bias and executed with the utmost integrity. These are our core values and stem from the Reuters Trust Principles.

Reuters also values accuracy, speed and exclusivity. 

According to Reuters, journalists are to fulfil the highest aspirations of the profession - to search for and report the truth, fairly, honestly and unfailingly. Beyond the obvious, such as plagiarism, fabrication (making things up) or bribe-taking, journalism is a profession that has to be governed by ethical guiding principles rather than by rigid rules.

Guiding principles liberate, and lead to better journalism. Rigid rules constrain, and restrict journalists’ ability to operate.

Reuters says, ‘What must unite us is honesty and integrity. We often face difficult choices in the pursuit of better stories and superior images. In such situations there are several ‘right’ answers and the rules we use run out. We can, however, guard against damage to our reputation through a shared understanding of the fundamental principles that govern our work.’

The 10 Absolutes of Reuters Journalism

1.      Always hold accuracy sacrosanct

2.      Always correct an error openly

3.      Always strive for balance and freedom from bias

4.      Always reveal a conflict of interest to a manager

5.      Always respect privileged information

6.      Always protect their sources from the authorities

7.      Always guard against putting their opinion in a news story

8.      Never fabricate or plagiarise

9.      Never alter a still or moving image beyond the requirements of normal image enhancement

10.  Never pay for a story and never accept a bribe

READING:

Itai Himelboim and Yehiel Limor, Media perception of freedom of the press: A comparative international analysis of 242 codes of ethics, in Journalism 2008; 9; 235. This is available on the Internet (put the title into Google) but can be difficult to download. If you have problems Dr Rooney has the article as a PDF file.

Denis McQuail, Mass Communication Theory, an Introduction, London: Sage, 1994. Chapter 5, Normative Theories of Media Performance.

A version of this book is on the Internet at

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7795120/Mass-Communication-Theory-by-Dennis-McQuaild

EthicNet for a collection of codes of journalism ethics from most European countries http://ethicnet.uta.fi/

Handbook of Reuters Journalism http://www.reuterslink.org/resources/resource3.htm

5. Social Responsibility and the Hutchins Report

University of Botswana

Department of Media Studies

BMS 226 ETHICS FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS

HANDOUT 5: HUTCHINS REPORT, MEDIA AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The Hutchins Report 1947

The Commission on Freedom of the Press 1947 in the US (known as the ‘Hutchins Report’ after its chair, Robert Hutchins) was the first scientific study of the press in the US and first social responsibility theory formulated by Theodore Paterson, Fred S. Siebert and Wilbur Schramm in their book Four Theories of the Press.

The Hutchins Commission Report said that the freedom of the press was in danger in the United States, ‘because in the hand of a few gigantic business units, the media of mass communication vital to the life of our democracy, have failed to accept the full responsibility to the public’.

The Commission observed that freedom of the press in America was in danger because ‘those who controlled’ the press did not facilitate the communication of a wide spectrum of ideas.

The American view of responsibility as contained in the Hutchins Report required that:

• The press should accept certain responsibilities towards the society

• These responsibilities can be discharged by giving a true, accurate, objective and balanced picture of the world

• The press should regulate itself, though within the context of law and other social institutions

• The press should reflect the pluralistic character of the society

• The press should play a positive role in regulating crime, violence and social conflict

• The press should be accountable to the society as well as to employers and the market

• The press should work for public good

Thus, we see rights and responsibilities go together. Nobody, individual or institution, is exempt from responsibilities.

Social Responsibility Theory

The First Amendment of the US constitution guarantees freedom of speech so that the press can remain fully free, and the public can be fully informed. This freedom may sometimes be hindered by corporate pressures and government control. In countries without freedom of the press, messages are filtered through the government, allowing only what is considered acceptable information to be released to the public.

To combat the pressures that threatened freedom of the press, the social responsibility theory was first introduced in 1947 and was recommended by the Hutchins Commission. It stated that the media should serve the public, and in order to do so, should remain free of government interference. It defined guidelines that the media should follow in order to fulfil its obligation of serving the public.

Ethics and the Media

The Social Responsibility Theory claimed that the media could be self-regulating by adhering to the following precepts:

• Media has obligations to fulfil to a democratic society in order to preserve freedom.
• Media should be self-regulated.
• Media should have high standards for professionalism and objectivity, as well as truth and accuracy.
• Media should reflect the diversity of the cultures they represent.
• The public has a right to expect professional performance. (The supporters of this theory had strong faith in the public’s ability to determine right and wrong, and take action to preserve the public good when necessary.)

The social responsibility does not only fall upon the reporters and producers of media. The responsibility also falls to the consumers to become media literate and maintain high, yet reasonable expectations of the media. In theory, if these things happen, there will be no need for government intervention.

The Social Responsibility Theory was seen as the ideal way for the media to conduct business. Over the years since its introduction, this theory has met with much criticism as well as support. It has become the standard for United States media practices. It has also set the standards for much of the currently accepted media ethics.

FURTHER READINGS:

Margaret A Blanchard, The Hutchins Commission, The Press, and the Responsibility Concept, Journalism Monographs, Association for Education in Journalism, 1977.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/39/d9/0b.pdf

What is the Social Responsibility Theory?

http://press-freedom.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_the_social_responsibility_theory#ixzz0iEySzevP

4. Codes of Ethics for Journalists

University of Botswana

Department of Media Studies

BMS 226 ETHICS FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS

HANDOUT 4: CODES OF ETHICS FOR JOURNALISTS

This is an extract from Freedom of the press - where to draw the line? By Michael Kunczik, which is the introductory chapter to the book Ethics in journalism : a reader on their perception in the Third World / Michael Kunczik (ed.). [Publ. by the Division for International Development Cooperation of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung]. - [Electronic ed.]. - Bonn, 1999. - 270 S. = 645 Kb, Text . - (Communication manual)
Electronic ed.: Bonn: FES Library, 2000

The full chapter is on the Internet here

http://www.fes.de/fulltext/iez/00710a.htm#LOCE9E1

The question as to which norms are to guide the activity of journalists is answered by trying to provide documents on basic principles, such as "Cannons of Journalism," press codes, etc. These kinds of professional ethical documents on basic principles distinguish themselves in most cases through the use of very broad, imprecise formulations, often empty

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of content and producing platitudes. Thus the "Canons of Journalism" of the "American Society of Newspaper Editors" begins with the following trivial programmatic statement: "The primary function of newspapers is to communicate to the human race what its members do feel and think. Journalism, therefore, demands of its practitioners the widest range of intelligence, knowledge, and experience, as well as natural and trained powers of observation and reasoning." In addition, the statement, "Good faith with the reader is the foundation of all journalism worthy of the name," is, as the main connecting theme for the practice of journalism, not too informative. The problem of applicability to practical journalistic activity is tackled in the professional principles agreed by the "International Federation of Journalists" in Bordeaux in 1954: 

"Preamble: This international declaration is proclaimed as a standard of professional conduct which every journalist should keep to in his or her work:

1. Respect for truth and for the right of the public to truth is the first duty of the journalist.
2. In pursuance of this duty, the journalist shall at all times defend the principles of freedom in the honest collection and publication of news, and of the right to fair comment and criticism.
3. The journalist shall report only in accordance with facts of which he/she knows the origin. The journalist shall not suppress essential information or falsify documents.
4. The journalist shall only use fair methods to obtain news, photographs and documents.
5. The journalist shall do the utmost to rectify any published information which is found to be harmfully inaccurate.
6. The journalist shall observe professional secrecy regarding the source of information obtained in confidence.
7. The journalist shall be alert to the danger of discrimination being furthered by media, and shall do the utmost to avoid facilitating such discriminations based on, among other things, race, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinions, and national and social origins.
8. The journalist shall regard as grave professional offenses the following: plagiarism; malicious misinterpretation; calumny; libel;

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slander; unfounded accusations; acceptance of a bribe in any form in consideration of either publication or suppression.

9. Journalists worthy of the name shall deem it their duty to observe faithfully the principles stated above. Within the general law of each country the journalist shall recognise in professional matters the jurisdiction of colleagues only, to the exclusion of any kind of interference by governments or others."

As an internationally useful, though strongly interpretative variation on the professional principles, two German communication scientists, Noelle-Neumann and Schulz (1971), name the following 10 points:

1. Awareness of the responsibility of the journalist in the fulfilment of his/her public role in the service of the general public;
2. Protection of internal and external independence;
3. To speak up for human rights, especially for the basic right of freedom of speech, of the press, and of broadcasters;
4. Tolerance towards those belonging to other nations, races and religions. To speak up for peace and international understanding;
5. Respect for the truth. Reliable information about the public, whose sources are checked. Correction of inaccurate reporting;
6. Safeguarding professional confidences, on which trust in a journalist is based;
7. Respect for privacy, and people's private lives;
8. No defamatory criticism, unless required through legitimate perception of the public interest;
9. No glorification of power, brutality and immorality. Consideration for the special situation of young people;
10. A level of education of journalists which does justice to their high degree of responsibility.

In a survey of 31 European codes of journalistic ethics, Tiina Laitila (1995) ascertains by and large, with respect to the function of these professional principles, how frequently certain things come up: 40% of the codes formulate a responsibility of journalists to the public (e.g. truth and clarity of information; defence of the rights of the public; responsibility, as figures in a position of influence, for public opinion); 23% contained principles referring to protection of the professional

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integrity of journalists (e.g. protection from public authorities; protection from employers and from advertising clients); in 22% a responsibility with regard to information sources was found (e.g. requirements about the collection and presentation of information and on the integrity of the source); in 9% of the codes there was something about the protection of status and professional solidarity; 4% contained requirements about responsibility toward employers and 2% had requirements on responsibility toward state institutions. 

As the most frequently mentioned principles (contained in more than half of the national codes looked at) Laitila identified:

• Truthfulness in gathering and reporting information;
• Freedom of expression and comment, defence of these rights;
• Equality by not discriminating against anyone on the basis of his or her race, ethnicity or religion, sex, social class, profession, handicap or any other personal characteristics;
• Fairness by using only straightforward means in the gathering of information;
• Respect for the integrity of sources, copyright and laws of citation;
• Independence/integrity by refusing bribes or any other outside influences on the work, by demanding the conscience clause.

No clear-cut answer can be given to the question as to how codes like these influence the behaviour of journalists. A survey conducted among 226 publishers in the US in the mid-1980s showed that newspapers with a code of ethics dealt with ethical violations more strictly than those that had no codes. When David Pritchard and Madelyn Peroni Morgan surveyed two newspapers in Indianapolis in 1989, on the other hand, they found that it made no difference. These authors came to the conclusion that codes of ethics are not much more than a public relations device, irrelevant to professional practice. David E. Boeyink (1994), however, concludes from his case study of three US newspapers that the effectiveness of such principles strongly depends on what significance the management attributes to them, and whether, in discussions with the journalists, the gap between general guidelines and concrete cases is closed. There is too little empirical evidence, though, to answer this question conclusively.