Journalistic ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and good practice applicable to journalists. This subset of media ethics is known as journalism's professional "code of ethics" and the "canons of journalism".[1] The basic codes and canons commonly appear in statements by professional journalism associations and individual print, broadcast, and online news organizations.
There are around 400 codes covering journalistic work around the world. While various codes may differ in the detail of their content and come from different cultural traditions, most share common elements including the principles of truthfulness, accuracy and fact-based communications, independence, objectivity, impartiality, fairness, respect for others and public accountability, as these apply to the gathering, editing and dissemination of newsworthy information to the public.[1][2][3][4]
Like many broader ethical systems, the ethics of journalism include the principle of "limitation of harm". This may involve enhanced respect for vulnerable groups and the withholding of certain details from reports, such as the names of minor children, crime victims' names, or information not materially related to the news report where the release of such information might, for example, harm someone's reputation or put them at undue risk.[5][6] There has also been discussion and debate within the journalism community regarding appropriate reporting of suicide and mental health, particularly with regard to verbiage.[7]
^"SPJ Code of Ethics". Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). September 6, 2014. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
^"Truth and the Media"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on March 30, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2009. (50.1 KB) Dean, Catherine. Strathmore University Ethics Conference, 2006 (see p. 11, Harm limitation principle) Retrieved on June 9, 2009