{"id":4750,"date":"2014-03-28T12:39:48","date_gmt":"2014-03-28T17:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/?p=4750"},"modified":"2020-11-29T12:15:47","modified_gmt":"2020-11-29T18:15:47","slug":"ethos-ethics-ethicker-ethicist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2014\/03\/ethos-ethics-ethicker-ethicist\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethos Ethics Ethicker Ethicist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Spring for journalists marks the end of contest entry season and the beginning of conferences and workshops. Heavy thinking threatens the daffodils.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4749\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4749\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2014\/03\/28\/ethos-ethics-ethicker-ethicist\/time_to_score_somerset\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4749 noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4749\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2014\/03\/ethos-ethics-ethicker-ethicist\/time_to_score_somerset\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Time_to_score_Somerset.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1024,409\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Time_to_score_Somerset\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Source:&lt;br \/&gt;\nhttp:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Time_to_score,_collecting_arrows_and_scoring_at_Dunster_Archery_competition,_Somerset,_2009._%283683544091%29.jpg&lt;br \/&gt;\n&amp;#8220;Author IDS.photos from Tiverton, UK&amp;#8221; &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Collecting arrows and scoring at a 2009 Somerset (UK) archery competition. Source:&lt;br \/&gt;\n&lt;a href=&quot;http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Time_to_score,_collecting_arrows_and_scoring_at_Dunster_Archery_competition,_Somerset,_2009._%283683544091%29.jpg&quot; title=&quot;Time to score, Somerset 2009&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Wikimedia Commons&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Time_to_score_Somerset.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4749     \" alt=\"Collecting arrows at Dunster Archery competition, Somerset, 2009. Source: Wikimedia Commons\" src=\"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Time_to_score_Somerset-300x119.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Time_to_score_Somerset-300x119.jpg 300w, https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Time_to_score_Somerset.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4749\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Collecting arrows and scoring at a 2009 Somerset (UK) archery competition. <br \/><small>Source: <a title=\"Time to score, Somerset 2009\" href=\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Time_to_score,_collecting_arrows_and_scoring_at_Dunster_Archery_competition,_Somerset,_2009._%283683544091%29.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ethics committees of two groups, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Online News Association, are marking this climate change with proposals. SPJ&#8217;s is revising its Code of Ethics, last dolled up in 1996, and ONA&#8217;s panel wants a new approach it calls &#8220;Build Your Own Ethics Code.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A key difference: SPJ will engrave its code in stone and ONA plans continual updating. One similarity is prominent: How ethics (singular noun) effects Internet news.<\/p>\n<p>Or commentary, for that matter. (My gang, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, has a <a title=\"Columnists Code of Conduct\" href=\"http:\/\/www.columnists.com\/about\/code-of-conduct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Code of Conduct<\/a>, set in 2009. Valid in any medium.)<\/p>\n<p>A point by point breakdown can&#8217;t be done until ONA completes its list. Until then, here&#8217;s their links:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\" Ethics Code Revisions \u2013 Our First Draft\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.spjnetwork.org\/ethics\/2014\/03\/27\/ethics-code-revisions-our-first-draft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ethics Code Revisions \u2013- SPJ&#8217;s First Draft<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Get ready for ONA\u2019s DIY Ethics Code, Because One Size Does Not Fit All\" href=\"http:\/\/journalists.org\/2014\/03\/19\/get-ready-for-onas-diy-ethics-code-because-one-size-does-not-fit-all\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ONA\u2019s DIY Ethics Code: One Size Does Not Fit All<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even their postings&#8217; titles (which I&#8217;ve edited for form) indicate a significant issue. Ethics has a reputation as the Law&#8217;s wayward brother &#8212; while the Law graduated with high honors and is out making a name for itself, ethics still is in school, partying with the attitude, &#8220;Whatever, Dude.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If you can go to jail or lose a lawsuit, it&#8217;s the Law. Ethics runs into its brother and bounces off: It is the agreement we journalists have with our audience; it&#8217;s how news providers are trusted to be as complete and fair as possible in the moment and not too offensive. While the Law has exceptions, Ethics functions by its elasticity.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->Ethics for many, though, must be a fixed point, a poster on a wall for people to point to while arguing. The spongier ethics is, the less effective. Plagiarism for example is wrong only most of the time, and those outliers are simple to list, citing historical and cultural justifications. But the limits change, hence occasional or continual revision.<\/p>\n<p>This is the charm of the <a title=\"SPJ Code of Ethics, 1996\" href=\"http:\/\/www.spj.org\/ethicscode.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">current SPJ Code of Ethics<\/a> and the proposed revision, announced yesterday. It&#8217;s detailed for sundry circumstances. SPJ continues to divide the rules into these four headings:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Seek Truth and Report It<\/li>\n<li>Minimize Harm<\/li>\n<li>Act Independently<\/li>\n<li>Be Accountable<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you&#8217;re already trained as a journalist, these bullet points are nearly enough to point to right conduct.<\/p>\n<p>The Online News Association&#8217;s Code of Ethics &#8212; <a title=\"ONA Policies, including ethics\" href=\"http:\/\/journalists.org\/about\/accountability\/policies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">click on its line for a PDF<\/a> &#8212; concerns only the behavior of the organization. Advising the world on proper conduct, beginning in May, is the plan. And it&#8217;s new: the <a title=\"ONA Prepares a DIY Ethics Code -- The Online News Association Is Working on a Crowdsourced Ethics Code Project\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cjr.org\/behind_the_news\/ona_prepares_a_diy_ethics_code.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Columbia Journalism Review<\/em> reported<\/a> on it, also yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>ONA plans strong-enough similarities to SPJ&#8217;s four headings. One difference may rest in how each tackles the challenges brought by Web publishing and social media.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe I missed others, but SPJ&#8217;s draft has a single line about online:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Consider the long-term implications of the extended reach and permanence of online publication. Provide updated and more complete information when appropriate.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Maybe that&#8217;s the right approach. ONA&#8217;s stated plan is for more specifics.<\/p>\n<p>Certainly my career-long practice has been seeing accuracy, integrity and balance as pretty much the same using sentences, illustration, radio and video, and the Web &#8212; which also uses text, sound and pictures.<\/p>\n<p>The ONA ethics toolkit acknowledges the existence of advocacy journalism. The committee seeks input (&#8220;crowdsourcing&#8221;) on the governance of<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8216;transparency&#8217; journalism, meaning it\u2019s fine to write from a certain political or social point of view as long as you\u2019re upfront about it.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>SPJ parallels this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Proposed: &#8220;Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be clearly labeled.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>1996 code: &#8220;Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>ONA emphasizes advocacy splits the information pie, the other being &#8220;traditional objective journalism, where your personal opinion is kept under wraps.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The web people continue, &#8220;[W]e expect the toolkit to be a living thing, with updates and expansion as new ethical issues arise and perspectives on journalism change.&#8221; It will be a <a title=\"Merriam-Webster defines &quot;wiki&quot;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/wiki\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wiki<\/a>, in short.<\/p>\n<p>SPJ&#8217;s new Code of Ethics poster &#8212; whether virtual or thumbtackable &#8212; has the advantage of permanence, until its committee next reconvenes.<\/p>\n<p>ONA will have the flexibility demanded by the newish media: Photos and video shot on smartphones, for example, reset common limits with every passing catastrophe.<\/p>\n<p>But what good is that when an editor\/publisher\/teacher\/curator\/self-in-mirror tries to point to a policy when discussing a controversy with a reporter\/blogger\/columnist\/videographer\/texter &#8212; only to find it&#8217;s been revised since yesterday?<\/p>\n<p>My response:<\/p>\n<p>Both forms are needed. Hence an illustration of multiple archery bullseyes. You stand in front of one of several targets, or you&#8217;re assigned to it, and aim for the middle of yours.<\/p>\n<p>That is our world.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><small>Copyright 2014 Ben S. Pollock<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spring for journalists marks the end of contest entry season and the beginning of conferences and workshops. Heavy thinking threatens the daffodils. Ethics committees of two groups, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Online News Association, are marking this climate change with proposals. SPJ&#8217;s is revising its Code of Ethics, last dolled up in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[45,46,47],"class_list":["post-4750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-spin","tag-ethics","tag-journalism-ethics","tag-media-ethics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5106,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2015\/06\/ethics-panel-columnists\/","url_meta":{"origin":4750,"position":0},"title":"A Panel on Ethics for Columnists, Other Writers","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"June 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are links, annotated, mentioned in my portion of a Panel on Ethics at the 39th annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, in Indianapolis. These were prepared with the assumption the room would have a projector etc. Wrong. I had a Plan B -- always have a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education, Coarsely&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education, Coarsely","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/education-coarsely\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ben Pollock (left) and Steve Keys, executive director of Indiana's Hoosier State Press Association, discuss ethical issues for columnists and others Friday, June 26, 2015, at the 39th annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. It met at The Alexander in Indianapolis. Photo by Dan St. Yves.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ben-Steve-Key-nsnc-indy-960x724-styves-062615-300x226.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4846,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2014\/06\/journalism-principles-pay\/","url_meta":{"origin":4750,"position":1},"title":"Principles of Journalism Pay","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"June 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I have a real full-time job, near ideal actually, its long title notwithstanding. On June 12, I signed a formal offer to serve as 2014-15 Interim Assistant Director of the University of Arkansas Center for Ethics in Journalism and Instructor of Journalism. It comprises the same responsibilities and term as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education, Coarsely&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education, Coarsely","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/education-coarsely\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"UA Lemke Department of Journalism door","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/images.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4726,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2014\/03\/two-tales-or-maybe-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":4750,"position":2},"title":"Two Tales, or Maybe One","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Ethics Presentation for \"News Reporting II\" (This is not a blog post per se but an outline for a talk I'm giving to a class. It's not a PowerPoint-like slide show, although a short video is included. It's both for my use and for students if they wish to check\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News, Spin&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kitty Genovese, from March 27, 1964, New York Times article, \"37 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/KittyGenovese.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6418,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2019\/09\/lit-burning-bridge\/","url_meta":{"origin":4750,"position":3},"title":"Me Burn My Bridge? You Lit It","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"September 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Pyrite cube from Fuente del Moro, Navaj\u00fan, Spain.Source: Wikimedia Commons 1. This Just Happened In late August 2019, Millicent Whitehat, a recently retired college instructor, came up to me late one afternoon as we were leaving a reception at the university. \"So, you have a job on campus, right?\" \"Yeah,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education, Coarsely&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education, Coarsely","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/education-coarsely\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pyrite cube from Fuente del Moro, Navaj\u00fan, Spain.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pyritee-spagne.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pyritee-spagne.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pyritee-spagne.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pyritee-spagne.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pyritee-spagne.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":328,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2007\/06\/down-to-the-wire\/","url_meta":{"origin":4750,"position":4},"title":"Down to the Wire","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"June 23, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"PHILADELPHIA -- The final sessions of the 2007 conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists were the most traditional. In panel discussion format, largely avoided until this morning, perennial subjects were again addressed: techniques, ethics, books and technology. This will be brief, a note or two on each. After\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Philadelphia Phreedom&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Philadelphia Phreedom","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/nsnc\/philadelphia-2007\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4375,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2013\/07\/zapping-ethics\/","url_meta":{"origin":4750,"position":5},"title":"Zapping Ethics","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"July 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a retail dilemma, drafted as a timeline. In writing out the end, a wicked solution crystallizes, It would be wrong, but I want to. Disclaimer. No retail dilemma ever is a real problem, not with poverty, injustice and threats to democracy always looming large. But this quandary can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Body, Home, Street&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Body, Home, Street","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/body-home-street\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Whirlpool WMC2005YD has the electronics under the microwave, saves space. Smart, right?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Whirlpool-microwave-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4750"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6747,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750\/revisions\/6747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}