March 25

In "Code of Ethics..." I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more specific guidelines for "professional electronic journalists." I thought most of it was pretty straight forward, and honestly not all that different from what a code of ethics for a print journalist should look like. Though, perhaps that is the lesson here, that no matter what medium you use as a journalist ethics still apply. But I think, and when we create our mission for our Web site we should consider this, that there should be some outlines for creating Web content that would be more specific, and rules regarding using public sites for information and being wary of all sources on the Web.
I was happy to see "Guidelines for Ethical Video..." after my last paragraph. This was a little bit closer to what I was thinking electronic journalists should follow also. Because the news on the Web is made up of all of these different components it is important to include video and sound bites to the list of rules. I really thought the part of about slow motion was interesting, something that I never thought of before but it is true. Also the use of music and how it could possibly show editorial judgment is a good rule of thumb to include.
"Ethics in Digital Photography," is something that I think non-journalists should read also. As a news consumer, most times, you never even think that a photograph you see on a newspaper, Web site or TV package is altered so you don't look for that kind of thing. Until I worked with the technology that can do these edits and changes flawlessly I didn't really think about it either, but now that I know it is out there it is a real worry of mine as an editor. I think in our mission, Final Draft should include a clause about using photos from credible sources, our own photographers, or freelancers whom we have a good, stable working relationship with.
In "Photojournalism Ethics Guides," I really thought the Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune did a great job of highlighting the problems areas of photojournalism and offered a clear and cohesive outline for how photographers and editors can go about discussing and deciding what to do if an ethical situtation was to arise. I think something like that would be useful and smart in our own guideline. I also liked how all of the papers stressed the importance of clearly indicating if the photo was a set up portrait or an actual action shot. I think this is something that a lot of papers do with giving it a second thought as to the ethical implications that calling a set-up shot truth can bring.
I thought Steele did a good job in his blog addressing the problems news organizations on the Web are facing when it comes to ethics. His list from the panel about areas of online media that could bring about problems is helpful and definitely something our group should look at. By outlining the problems it will be easier to come up with clearer solutions. And, to be honest, I wasn't surprised about the list of ways news organizations deal with these problems compiled by the panel. Of course there is some confusion, because the medium is still pretty new. Things like citizen journalism are still be figured out, and so knowing what ethical challenges will be faced and how to deal with them are pretty new too.
The "Guidelines from the Conference" were really impressive. I specifically found the parts about clarifying between opinion, commentary and news important seeing that many online organizations do a poor job at it. I also thought the discussion on monitoring ways readers contribute to the discussion useful. And I liked that they kind of addressed the "good enough" idea of journalism that is being developed from the immediacy required by the Internet, even including production quality in the discussion.