The Society of Professional Journalists publishes a robust code of ethics that all journalists should adhere to. The code is so essential that I have my Florida Tech journalism students read it out loud each semester like churchgoers reciting a creed — this is who we are and what we believe.
It’s important.
The code has many valuable principles — adherence to the truth, minimizing harm to the vulnerable, avoiding bias and conflicts of interest, for example.
One tenet that I think is especially important — one that separates reliable journalism from fake news — falls under the principle “Be Accountable and Transparent.” It says journalists should “acknowledge mistakes and correct them promptly and prominently. Explain corrections and clarifications carefully and clearly.” Mistakes will happen, but good journalists fess up and strive to do better.
Since we can all act like journalists now with our ability to publish quickly and broadly on social media, journalism scholars Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel argue that we all have responsibilities when it comes to spreading news . The truth, or our best understanding of it, should be everyone’s goal.