Green Light Ethics

Practice hard-hitting journalism with confidence.

The Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership takes a practical approach to the ever-changing pressures on journalism and democracy. We are an authoritative voice for journalists, citizens and everyone interested in elevating discourse and fact-based expression while battling disinformation and bias.

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What we do:

Through the work of the Center, journalism can evolve its values and the public will better understand how those values impact their everyday lives, building practices of mutual trust and transparency. We:

Provide custom advice and training to professional newsrooms on stories and policies.
Advance the ethical standards that guide professional news organizations.
Work with citizens and journalists to identify issues where journalism can better serve its audience.
Host gatherings where journalists and experts can exchange ideas.
Sponsor research into building trust in news and the democratic process.

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Meet our team:

Do you want to interview one of our experts? Please email Poynter’s director of marketing Tina Dyakon for all media requests.

Neil Brown
President
The Poynter Institute

Kelly McBride
Poynter Senior Vice President and
Chair of Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership

Cheryl Carpenter
Leadership Faculty
The Poynter Institute

Rick Edmonds
Media Business Analyst & Leader of News Transformation
The Poynter Institute

Shannon Kellenberger
Administrative Assistant, Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership

Samantha Ragland
Faculty Member
The Poynter Institute

Al Tompkins, Senior Faculty, Broadcast and Online

Al Tompkins
Senior Faculty and Group Leader for Broadcast Media
The Poynter Institute

Doris Truong
Director of Training and Diversity
The Poynter Institute

Ethics articles:

Why using gender-nonspecific language in reporting extends beyond the page

To not dismantle the norm of gendered language in reporting on topics like paid family leave is to work to perpetuate and safeguard discrimination.

Pictures and words shoot past in a blur at a newspaper printing plant. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Editors agree: Journalism is increasingly super-serving richer and more educated audiences and leaving others behind

Paywalls and rising subscription prices translate to catering to well-off audiences to the exclusion of the less affluent.

A man reads a Malayalam language newspaper that features the death of legendary soccer player Diego Maradona as the lead news in Kochi, India, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/R S Iyer)

Trust in media is low worldwide. Are media outlets reaching out to the wrong people?

There are countless efforts to increase trust in news. Few have reached beyond existing readers and likely subscribers to the truly skeptical.

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Kirk Herbstreit’s comments about college football players lack self-awareness

The ESPN analyst makes millions of dollars talking about football games but questions the hearts of amateur players trying to protect their health.

A screenshot from a recent New York Times story.

How The New York Times handled life-or-death ethical issues while reporting on a popular suicide website

The team relied on advice and conversations with experts, veterans, editors and each other

When newsroom inclusion stops at hiring ‘diversely,’ reporters shoulder the burden of credibility

Rebuilding trust with communities is a collective action problem

Radio host Pat McAfee in 2019. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)

Pat McAfee keeps giving Aaron Rodgers a megaphone to amplify his misleading messages

McAfee isn't exactly a '60 Minutes' correspondent, but he has an obligation to push back a little if Rodgers keeps talking nonsense.

Carroll Hall, home of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Jan. 21, 2020. (Photo by: Mihaly I. Lukacs, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

After the Nikole Hannah-Jones blowup, UNC’s journalism school is healing, but slowly

Four months later, the main players in the drama are taking measured steps to move on.

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In addition to our work through the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, Poynter trains journalists to be strong practitioners and supports newsroom transformation and accountability journalism. We are the home of three major initiatives that are battling misinformation: PolitiFact, the International Fact-Checking Network and the news literacy program for teenagers and first-time voters, MediaWise. There are many ways that you can contribute to this important work:

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The Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at Poynter was made possible by a generous grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies.