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Responses to Ethical Issues Say a Lot About a Site
By
Shellie Branco
Q&A during the session |
When it’s time to tackle the main issues related to ethics at your online news organization, get everybody
into a room and force them to speak only in questions.
It’s a trick that has helped tame the “fire hose” of ethical issues and gets people thinking, Bill
Mitchell,
editor of Poynter Online, told about 30 journalists attending a Western Knight Center seminar on the business of online journalism.
The big journalistic issues that involve ethical questions—such as establishing a site’s corrections policy—usually
depend on one’s visceral, gut reactions, as well as reflection and reasoning, Mitchell said. Reflect on particular issues,
he advised the group, to avoid “thrashing around” later.
He also said that from a legal standpoint, it is usually a good idea to use aspirational, not declarative language. Using
the word “guidelines” instead of “code,” for instance, tells readers your policies aren’t necessarily
set in stone.
After a questions-only brainstorming meeting, seminar participants broke into groups and took on particular issues: the “voice” of
a news site, online privacy, exercising similar standards for print and the Web, news and revenues, and corrections.
Those discussing how to craft a voice for the online arm of a news organization mused about whether it was ethical to edit
newspaper headlines for a Web site. They also wondered whether a site should define content according to reader reactions and
whether a site should act as an ombudsman by having a “two-way” voice with readers.
Regarding a privacy policy, participants agreed that sites should spell it out specifically and candidly for readers. Make
it understandable—don’t use legalese. The group questioned whether a news site should be held to the same standard
as a newspaper when it comes to reporting information about minors.
Another group took a close look at standards related to accuracy, fairness and balance online. Although Web publishing demands
faster deadlines, reporters still have to do their best to verify facts.
Participants were unsure whether the immediacy of the Web changes journalistic standards, but they agreed that the broader
values of the news organization still apply.
On the issue of revenue, some in the group questioned whether there’s room for ethics when a company is in financial
survival mode. It was suggested that they ask their readers what they care about most. Other relevant questions: How profitable
is the front page of a site and how does the company measure success at balancing ads versus editorial content?
The group discussing corrections policies decided that a news organization should strive to be as accurate as possible. But
they agreed that three issues uniquely affect the Web: the scale of the error, the amount of time the error is on the site and
the placement of the correction.
The group said it would be acceptable to acknowledge a major error with a note to readers, but a misspelled name might deserve
a quick correction without notification.
Ultimately, responses to the ethical questions say a lot about the individual news organizations. Editors and reporters need
to decide for themselves what is a small or large error, and what standards work for their communities. |
