Urgency, Uncertainty and Alarmism: Ethical Climate Coverage

Covering climate, from fires in Maui and Los Angeles to Texas floods to extreme heat across the country, is a diverse, sprawling, and ethically challenging beat. It often requires a full newsroom effort, pulling in reporters to address disasters and policy in a range of ways: tracking fast-moving developments in real-time, communicating scale and impact, and offering the documentation and resources that might aid communities in preparing for future destruction.

A Future for Journalism: Courage is Required

Excerpt from Stephen J. Adler’s keynote address at the “Journalism and Good Governance” conference at the University of Navarra School of Communication in Madrid, Spain: September 27, 2025

Nieman Lab’s Andrew Deck Has Been Tracking AI Use in the Journalism Industry for Years. Here’s What He Says We Need to Know.

The Ethics of Covering the Trump Administration: How News Outlets Handle Insults Embedded in the Administration’s Official Responses

We spoke with standards editors at Reuters, NPR, and more and found a sharp divergence among them on the question of whether to publish extraneous insults from Trump spokespeople.

How Should News Organizations Respond to the Pentagon’s New Press Rules?

NYU journalism ethics professors weigh in.

Featured Resource:

Best Practices: Working with Corporate and Government Spokespeople

Working with P.R. reps can present ethical dilemmas for reporters. Our latest “Best Practice” offers guidance on how to avoid familiar pitfalls.

DECODED

Breaking down the ethics codes and guidelines shaping newsrooms across the industry.

Why Documented’s Website Features Legal and Financial Resources for Migrants

The nonprofit’s co-founder says its resources page is service journalism for the communities Documented covers.

How Should News Organizations Respond to the Pentagon’s New Press Rules?

NYU journalism ethics professors weigh in.

Featured Resource:

Best Practices: Working with Corporate and Government Spokespeople

Working with P.R. reps can present ethical dilemmas for reporters. Our latest “Best Practice” offers guidance on how to avoid familiar pitfalls.

Urgency, Uncertainty and Alarmism: Ethical Climate Coverage

Covering climate, from fires in Maui and Los Angeles to Texas floods to extreme heat across the country, is a diverse, sprawling, and ethically challenging beat. It often requires a full newsroom effort, pulling in reporters to address disasters and policy in a range of ways: tracking fast-moving developments in real-time, communicating scale and impact, and offering the documentation and resources that might aid communities in preparing for future destruction.

A Future for Journalism: Courage is Required

Excerpt from Stephen J. Adler’s keynote address at the “Journalism and Good Governance” conference at the University of Navarra School of Communication in Madrid, Spain: September 27, 2025

Nieman Lab’s Andrew Deck Has Been Tracking AI Use in the Journalism Industry for Years. Here’s What He Says We Need to Know.

The Ethics of Covering the Trump Administration: How News Outlets Handle Insults Embedded in the Administration’s Official Responses

We spoke with standards editors at Reuters, NPR, and more and found a sharp divergence among them on the question of whether to publish extraneous insults from Trump spokespeople.

DECODED

Breaking down the ethics codes and guidelines shaping newsrooms across the industry.

Why Documented’s Website Features Legal and Financial Resources for Migrants

The nonprofit’s co-founder says its resources page is service journalism for the communities Documented covers.

THE ETHICS DIGEST

Pointing you toward the latest news stories and initiatives that place ethics at the forefront.

RESOURCES ARCHIVE

Looking for more information on AI usage for your pitches and essays? Want to know more about how the biggest publications treat ethics in their newsrooms? We compile all of these sources (and more) in our resources library.

Browse Resources

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Urgency, Uncertainty and Alarmism: Ethical Climate Coverage

Covering climate, from fires in Maui and Los Angeles to Texas floods to extreme heat across the country, is a diverse, sprawling, and ethically challenging beat. It often requires a full newsroom effort, pulling in reporters to address disasters and policy in a range of ways: tracking fast-moving developments in real-time, communicating scale and impact, and offering the documentation and resources that might aid communities in preparing for future destruction.

AREAS OF FOCUS

Everyday Ethics

Journalistic ethical standards that form the profession’s foundation.

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Ethics and Technology

Ethical implications and challenges that arise from evolving technology.

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Ethics and Diversity

Ethical reporting on diverse communities and building ethical structures within newsrooms.

Read More

Ethics and Democracy

Ethics, journalism and the democratic process in an increasingly polarized world.

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THE LATEST

The latest in ethics news and original commentary.

A Future for Journalism: Courage is Required

Excerpt from Stephen J. Adler’s keynote address at the “Journalism and Good Governance” conference at the University of Navarra School of Communication in Madrid, Spain: September 27, 2025

Nieman Lab’s Andrew Deck Has Been Tracking AI Use in the Journalism Industry for Years. Here’s What He Says We Need to Know.

Since the public launch of ChatGPT nearly three years ago, the media industry has cycled through many phases of AI adoption and experimentation.

The Ethics of Covering the Trump Administration: How News Outlets Handle Insults Embedded in the Administration’s Official Responses

We spoke with standards editors at Reuters, NPR, and more and found a sharp divergence among them on the question of whether to publish extraneous insults from Trump spokespeople.

Covering Migrants In An Age Of Mass Deportations

The stakes are high for reporters on the migrant beat. To provide guidance and insight, we asked a veteran immigration reporter about building trust, fielding requests for help, navigating Trump administration changes to enforcement, reader fatigue, and more. 

How to Write Fairer, More Accurate Headlines

New guidance from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics lays out three principles for ethical headline writing and offers guidance for newsrooms that want to achieve them.

Do We Really Know How Trump Decided to Bomb Iran?

Reporters and readers should be skeptical of unnamed “insiders.”

Student Journalists: Know Your Rights, Ethical Decisions Under Pressure

For student journalists, covering campus news for decades is increasingly likely to raise complicated ethical and legal questions—from how to stay safe when faced with law enforcement and possible disciplinary action, to legal rights student journalists have when covering campus protests.

Why Documented’s Website Features Legal and Financial Resources for Migrants

The nonprofit’s co-founder says its resources page is service journalism for the communities Documented covers.

At The Kansas City Defender, Activism Is The Mission

This startup nonprofit, which was born out of the 2020 George Floyd protests, embraces community advocacy in the tradition of what it calls “the radical Black press.”

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