A Note on Ethics & Values
A note from the editor about the values and ethics that guide decision-making at Caswell News & Notes.
The choice to provide community news coverage is a sacred commitment, or at least it should be.
My work with Caswell News & Notes is driven by a few persistent personal beliefs:
- Caswell County is full of good people who want to do the right thing. I love this place and the people who live here.
- Access to timely, accurate, reliable information makes it easier to be involved and to make good decisions.
- Every being has value - a story, a gift, wisdom, tools, or art to share.
- My community deserves a platform that makes it easier to stay informed, stay connected, celebrate their neighbors, and promote their services and businesses.
Core Principles of Ethical Journalism
The Ethical Journalism Network lists five core principles of ethical journalism that reflect the generally agreed upon standards held by most reputable journalists. I also invite you to explore some of the Pew Research regarding perception of those principles and how performance is measured.
This is how we apply those five core principles here at Caswell News & Notes:
- Truth & Accuracy - Information is only useful if it is accurate, truthful, relevant, and delivered with the appropriate context. Opinions should not be presented as facts. Facts should not be distorted by opinion aka spin. Gossip and rumor do not become news until it can be verified.
- Independence - A community news source must provide accurate coverage without fear or favor. Reporters and publishers must not be bullied, guilted, or manipulated into silence or unfair coverage. Any potential conflicts of interest created by business, personal, or political affiliations should be disclosed.
- Fairness & Impartiality - We all have those kinds of affiliations, along with our own opinions, biases, and prejudice. A good community journalist cannot allow those things to unduly influence their coverage. A good reporter doesn't have to like or agree with someone to provide fair, accurate coverage but they do need to be mindful of how their own beliefs may be influencing the way they are presenting the facts so they can course correct, or provide disclosures, as necessary.
- Humanity - Life is hard. Even when it's good, it's hard. At the end of the day, most of us are out here doing the best we can and we shouldn't be going around making other people's lives any harder. There is no need in being cruel or unkind in coverage or commentary. We can provide excellent news coverage without sensationalizing other people's tragedies. Is it necessary to have photos of that fatal car crash? It might be, if that image can draw attention to the need for a stop light at that intersection. But photos of fatal crash scenes that simply serve as click bait for folks who love to watch a good train wreck? No, that's not a good enough reason to splash someone else's nightmare all over the internet.
- Accountability - Sometimes we get it wrong. Sometimes a name is misspelled or a number is transposed. Sometimes we misunderstand. Accidents and mistakes happen but when they do, we must acknowledge them and clean up the mess. One benefit of digital delivery is the ability to immediately notify readers, correct content, and publicly record any post-publication edits made. If you ever think we're getting it wrong, let me know.
"Your primary obligation as a journalist is to seek the truth and report it. A journalist's job is not to interview people and report what color they say the sky is. The job of a journalist is to look out the window and report the truth" - Amanda Crawford, Journalism at UConn
