Updates on ethical decision-making in newsrooms big and small, written by Poynter’s Kelly McBride, Bob Steele and colleagues.
Until today, media covering allegations of sexual harassment leveled against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain have universally withheld the identities of the women, who did not voluntarily come forward.
Then today, The Daily, Rupert Murdoch’s iPad publication, revealed the identity … Read more
The recent flap over Bruce Feldman’s non-suspension for writing a book on behalf of a guy now suing ESPN for libel has been characterized as (a) a Twitter revolution, (b) an ESPN house of cards, (c) Twitterati gone wild.
In … Read more
The Washington Post will reassign some of Peter Perl’s duties, but won’t demote or suspend the assistant managing editor, who knew that Jose Vargas was an undocumented immigrant, but kept it a secret for seven years.
I talked with … Read more
When it comes to deciding how to handle a plagiarism or fabrication case, there are a variety of factors that news organizations might consider.
We don’t have enough data to identify trends in sanctions, but a look at some plagiarism/fabrication … Read more
“We’ll deal with it on a case-by-case basis.”
For many of us that approach was the guiding force on how to handle breaking news in the early years of Web journalism at The Washington Post. It was one way of … Read more
Ellen Weiss’ resignation wasn’t about Juan Williams and it wasn’t about NPR. It was about a news organization trying to keep a star in orbit by bending its standards. And there are plenty of other professional news outlets in similar … Read more
By Jeremy Gilbert and Jan Leach
Journalism values are no doubt changing, but it’s not professionals who are driving these changes.
Last week’s “Next Ethics?” workshop, hosted by Kent State University and The Poynter Institute, explored questions about how … Read more
By Jeremy Gilbert
and Jan Leach
The “NEXT Ethics?” Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop, hosted by the Kent State University school of Journalism and Mass Communication, will bring together professional journalists, professors and students to engage in a … Read more
By now it’s clear that the Rev. Terry Jones is a lone voice with a tiny following. On any given Sunday he has 50 worshipers, according to reporters who have attended his services. Far from being the leader of a … Read more
Sometimes, you have two groups of friends you deliberately keep separate, because you know they would disagree on many of life’s principles. My workout pals and my drinking buddies rarely get together. Same goes for my neighbors and my journalism … Read more