As a journalist, you cannot rely on your institution, your brand or your colleagues to guide you down an ethical path. To build trust with your audience, you must create a solid body of sound ethical journalism that sets you apart. When considering the practice of ethics, ask yourself these questions:
- When do I make good ethical decisions? What skills allow me to do so?
- When do I fall short in my ethical decisions? Why? What can I do to improve my competence?
- How can I continue to develop my ethical decision-making skills in a way that will improve my journalism?
Use these questions to help you develop a process for making ethical decisions — before you’re faced with a tough call on deadline. This will give you the confidence to make tough calls and defend your decisions to your managers, your colleagues and your audience.
Taken from Ethics of Journalism, a self-directed course by Kelly McBride, Caitlin Johnston, Bob Steele and Al Tompkins at Poynter NewsU.
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