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Comment by Kevin Z. Smith on November 8, 2010 at 19:31

As ethics chair for the Society of Professional Journalists our committee in the U.S. is looking into ethical issue regarding Wikileaks, social media and our own code. We will release a new book of case studies in January, the fourth ethics book by SPJ. While SPJ's code is the most repeated and referred to code, I am hoping for board insight into how this stands up to current mediums. I'm aware of Buttry's comments, but it takes more than one person's view to reconstruct such a popular code. Thoughts?

Comment by Eric Karstens on November 8, 2010 at 16:35

Steve Buttry has a similar approach: http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/journalists-code-of-eth...

Comment by Howard Hudson on November 4, 2010 at 16:59

Ok, so what can other journalists or bloggers do? Check here for your national code: http://ethicnet.uta.fi/codes_by_country

If you find some aspect not already in the joint code, or contradictory, please drop me an email on hudson@ejc.net

I'll then check it myself and flag up your input. Most helpful at this point would be to hear from journalists or bloggers in Eastern European or Nordic countries...

Comment by Emma Brewin on November 3, 2010 at 11:38

There seems to have been a great response to this Howard... How can journalists get involved in shaping this code?

Comment by Howard Hudson on November 3, 2010 at 11:26

Couple of updates: US media ethics website Stinkyjournalism.org has just filed a second report on our code of ethics entitled: ‘European Journalism Centre’s Ethics Code to Include Bloggers, All of Europe’.

The full Q&A is here on the EJC blog.

Comment by Howard Hudson on October 27, 2010 at 14:20

Thanks again for joining! This week we commissioned our first of five case studies for the code of ethics, which will be published in November.

I also wrote an opinion piece for journalism.co.uk: 'Media ethics for press freedom: Quid pro quo?'
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news-commentary/-media-ethics-for-press...

If you have any more ideas, please share them!

Comment by Diana Lungu on October 21, 2010 at 12:25

European Journalism Centre drafts international media code of ethics... first reactions

Comment by Howard Hudson on October 18, 2010 at 12:09

Bloggers’ influence is growing collectively, and in countries like Canada they now share protections afforded to journalists “if they can show that they acted responsibly in reporting on a matter of public interest”. The more bloggers self-regulate, the more protections they will be able to claim.

In September 2010, the European Parliament floated the idea of “drawing up a code of ethics applicable to new media”. We at EJC welcome this, so long as it promotes free and responsible reporting. Self-regulation, not self-censorship.

The point is not to ‘upgrade’ bloggers into journalists. Most would probably want to remain a different species, marked by their independence and innovation. The point is to nurture quality journalism and quality blogging. In this vein, our TH!NK series appears to be getting the balance right: it even won an award in 2009.

But for the EJC, such a code needs two axes:
- one that reconciles old and new media;
- one that links journalists working in different countries.

It’s not just that new media is a global phenomenon. It’s also that people are learning and working in different ways, under varying conditions – and this shapes the media landscape. Across Europe and beyond, diverse training and traditions may lead to gaps or contradictions in the quality of journalism. Different countries have different training curricula and social structures.

In Italy for example, special care is taken not to identify police and legal teams when reporting on mafia cases (see 5e below). Since organised crime has gone global, shouldn’t the same care be extended to other countries?

Meanwhile, news sites in Germany are swapping articles with ‘partners’ in Denmark, Italy and the USA. Do all these writers follow the same journalistic standards? (Probably not.) Should readers demand the same quality of reporting? (Why not?) And does it really matter if the trend is toward tabloidisation anyway? (YES, if you value quality journalism.)

Bloggers and foreign journalists are not our enemies. Our real enemies are the ‘media predators’ who subject us to intimidation or violence and stop us from doing our job. But we become our own worst enemies when we ignore basic ethics and fail to provide the social benefits that justify our privileges and protections.

We need to accept that we’re in this together: journalists, bloggers, Brits, Germans, Italians, etc. We’re in a media melting pot and we need clarity. A code of media coverage ethics can help define our joint priorities while creating a level playing field. For bloggers, it means stepping up to the mark; for journalists it means formalising a space we already share.

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