Map of United States with sunglasses with the words "New York" and "Washington" in the lenses.

Getting Past Newsroom Myopia

The results of the 2024 election left many national media commentators stunned. This surprise begs the question: what can coastal big-city news organizations do to more accurately reflect and understand the concerns of the American public?

Guest Column: A Retro Proposal to Restore The Public’s Trust in Media

In 1976, the first year of that annual Gallup poll showing this year’s dreadful erosion in media trust, pollsters found that 72% of those polled had “a great deal/fair amount” of trust in the press. This year a mere 31% felt that way. As erosion in public trust of media becomes an avalanche, Pulitzer Prize finalist Ken Wells suggests a return to the agnostic newsroom.

Creators of ‘Empire City’ podcast discuss NYPD past and present, what media gets wrong about police

Ryan Howzell, project manager of NYU’s Ethics and Journalism Initiative, moderated the panel. The conversation ranged from technical discussions about the creators’ archival research process to the media’s central role in shaping public understanding of the police.

Covering Immigration Ethically Under Trump

Top immigration journalists from The New Yorker, ProPublica, Documented, and The CITY discuss how a second Trump presidency will inform their reporting.

DECODED

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

The AI Chatbot Debating Ethics with NYU Journalism Students

Journalist Adam Penenberg is looking for ways to bring ethics codes to life — or at least, artificial life.

Covering Immigration Ethically Under Trump

Top immigration journalists from The New Yorker, ProPublica, Documented, and The CITY discuss how a second Trump presidency will inform their reporting.

Map of United States with sunglasses with the words "New York" and "Washington" in the lenses.

Getting Past Newsroom Myopia

The results of the 2024 election left many national media commentators stunned. This surprise begs the question: what can coastal big-city news organizations do to more accurately reflect and understand the concerns of the American public?

Guest Column: A Retro Proposal to Restore The Public’s Trust in Media

In 1976, the first year of that annual Gallup poll showing this year’s dreadful erosion in media trust, pollsters found that 72% of those polled had “a great deal/fair amount” of trust in the press. This year a mere 31% felt that way. As erosion in public trust of media becomes an avalanche, Pulitzer Prize finalist Ken Wells suggests a return to the agnostic newsroom.

Creators of ‘Empire City’ podcast discuss NYPD past and present, what media gets wrong about police

Ryan Howzell, project manager of NYU’s Ethics and Journalism Initiative, moderated the panel. The conversation ranged from technical discussions about the creators’ archival research process to the media’s central role in shaping public understanding of the police.

DECODED

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

The AI Chatbot Debating Ethics with NYU Journalism Students

Journalist Adam Penenberg is looking for ways to bring ethics codes to life — or at least, artificial life.

THE ETHICS DIGEST

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

‘No comment’: When it’s time to make that the story

As journalists are increasingly denied access from high-level figures and shut out of events, Poynter faculty Fernanda Camarena offers guidance on how to ethically report when you don't have the full story.

Covering the Economy from the Bottom Up

Dean Starkman, author of The Watchdog That Didn’t Bark: The Financial Crisis and the Disappearance of Investigative Journalism, breaks down how accountability journalism in business and finance will be necessary to addressing reader discontent and combatting misinformation narratives about the U.S. economy.

Local News Researchers Workshop: Call for Proposals

The Local News Researchers Workshop brings together researchers across the academic, industry, non-profit, and government sectors whose work addresses contemporary issues confronting local journalism. Proposals for presentation at the 5th annual workshop are due by January 17.

When should journalists use the word ‘terrorism?’

Describing the act, minimizing risk of amplification, resisting stereotypes, and ethically quoting politicians.

Correcting the record: Experts weigh in on ethical news corrections

University of Wisconsin Center for Journalism Ethics Fellow Sophia Scolman and Trusting News founder Joy Mayer discuss how developing strong newsroom correction and update policies can build trust with readers.

I’m a Gen Z Journalist. My Generation Doesn’t Know What That Means.

"Journalists have always been watchdogs. They make or break careers and cost businesses millions. An exposé is a fearsome fate for any stakeholder. But as content creators offer a more attractive way to engage sports fans, teams and sponsors can control the narrative — often scripting branded social content, drawing a red line through pre-approved questions and having final approval over the finished product."

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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

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.

Read More

Ethics and Diversity

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

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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.

The AI Chatbot Debating Ethics with NYU Journalism Students

Journalist Adam Penenberg is looking for ways to bring ethics codes to life — or at least, artificial life.

Covering Immigration Ethically Under Trump

Top immigration journalists from The New Yorker, ProPublica, Documented, and The CITY discuss how a second Trump presidency will inform their reporting.

Guest Column: A Retro Proposal to Restore The Public’s Trust in Media

In 1976, the first year of that annual Gallup poll showing this year’s dreadful erosion in media trust, pollsters found that 72% of those polled had “a great deal/fair amount” of trust in the press. This year a mere 31% felt that way. As erosion in public trust of media becomes an avalanche, Pulitzer Prize finalist Ken Wells suggests a return to the agnostic newsroom.

Creators of ‘Empire City’ podcast discuss NYPD past and present, what media gets wrong about police

Ryan Howzell, project manager of NYU’s Ethics and Journalism Initiative, moderated the panel. The conversation ranged from technical discussions about the creators’ archival research process to the media’s central role in shaping public understanding of the police.

Event Takeaways: CBS News’s Dr. Jon LaPook on Ethics in Science, Health, and Medical Reporting

"Disinfecting" misinformation, offering context, navigating conflicts of interest, and more in our takeaways from our Ethics in Medical Reporting event with CBS News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook.

Getting Past Newsroom Myopia

The results of the 2024 election left many national media commentators stunned. This surprise begs the question: what can coastal big-city news organizations do to more accurately reflect and understand the concerns of the American public?

Map of United States with sunglasses with the words "New York" and "Washington" in the lenses.

My Student Asked: Is It Ethical to Share Common Experiences, Interests or Beliefs with a Source?

The other day, a student asked me whether, in interviewing a union official for a story, it was OK to tell the official that the student had been a union organizer a few years before entering journalism school. Would this be ethical, the student asked?

A large group of individuals in red shirts wearing shirts and holding signs with slogans calling for a fifteen dollar minimum wage.

Collier Award Issue Spotlight: False Equivalencies

We asked the inaugural judges for the Peter F. Collier Award for Ethics in Journalism to break down the seven core ethical issue areas entrants can address in their submissions. This week, Gina Chua, Executive Editor at Semafor, offers guidance on pursuing "fair and balanced" reporting when "both sides" aren't equal.

Collier Award Judges: Lynn Novick, Sewell Chan, Nancy Gibbs, Gina Chua, Dean Baquet, Kerry Smith, Lynette Clemetson, Stephen Solomon, and Paul Steiger.

Guest Column: Journalists’ Obligation to Report — and Re-Report — the Facts About the Election

The truth is that voting in this country is relatively safe and secure. The results are reliable. Journalists need to defend the mechanics of democracy by also reporting the facts about the actual soundness of the overall system, not the corrosive conspiracy theories emanating from candidates and their social feeds.       

Person with long curly hair inserts ballot into ballot box in a parking lot

Archival Producers Alliance: Best Practices for Use of Generative AI in Documentaries

For Stephanie Jenkins, establishing AI best practices for documentary film began as a game of catch-up, after she discovered last year that producers in the field had already begun to experiment with deploying generative AI to create false historical footage, images, and artifacts, with little or no disclosure or guardrails. Last month, she and other industry veterans released a new Best Practices guide for Use of Generative AI in Documentaries through the newly-formed Archival Producers Alliance (APA). In this edition of Decoded, Managing Editor Ryan Howzell sat down with Jenkins and fellow APA Co-Director Rachel Antell to discuss the APA's new guide and what multimedia journalists and producers stand to learn from it.

Black and white photo o Rachel Antell and Jen Petrucelli

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