19th September 2014
By Stefanie Chernow

Ethical Journalism Newsletter: September 19th, 2014

Ethical Journalism News

Images of Journalism: Why Ethics Need to be Part of the Picture

Image selection has always been a tricky ethical dilemma for journalists and editors, but in the last few weeks the complex issues arising from a number of cases have led to criticisms of the media from a wide variety of groups and commentators. Here’s a look at some of these high-profile cases and their implication for journalistic ethics.

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AFP: Covering the “Islamic State”

Faced with the kidnap and murder of journalists in Syria, Iraq and Africa, and the flood of horrific propaganda images churned out by the “Islamic State” group and its offshoots, it is time to reaffirm some ethical and editorial groundrules. Our challenge is to strike a balance between our duty to inform the public, the need to keep our reporters safe, our concern for the dignity of victims being paraded by extremists, and the need to avoid being used as a vehicle for hateful, ultraviolent propaganda. (via AFP)

Today is International Media Ethics Day

The Center for International Media Ethics (CIME) and a huge variety of media organisations, professionals and citizens are coming together today to celebrate the 4th International Media Ethics Day — IMED Cyber. This year’s edition has a special focus on digital media ethics and IT security, including issues of data protection, social media, citizen journalism, online security, internet censorship. (via CIME)

Scottish Referendum – How the Newspapers Reported the Historic Vote

British newspapers publishers pulled out the stops to print early morning editions as Scotland voted Thursday to stay in UK. In a digital world, newspapers naturally enough delivered the unfolding news of the Scottish independence referendum on their websites. Their printing times meant that it was impossible to carry the result in most newsprint editions. (via The Guardian)

Off-the-Record Session With the President on ISIS Raises Concerns

President Obama’s session last week with opinion columnists and magazine writers included some journalistic big guns. And the subject could not have been more important: his strategy on dealing with the terrorist group known as ISIS. But regular citizens can’t know much of what was said there, because it was off the record. (via the New York Times)

Reports and Resources

An International Review of Regulation and Self-Regulation in Journalism

The regulation and self-regulation of journalism is in crisis. Many questions are being asked about the consequences of the rapidly-evolving spaces in which journalism operates. In this study from the Centre of Media Studies at Laval University in Canada (published in French), experts from several different countries present a summary of the issues and discussions amongst the bodies charged with regulating the work of journalists.

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Events

International Media Ethics Day — IMED Cyber

Today is the 2014 International Media Ethics Day (IMED). The aim of the day is to mobilise media professionals around the world to discuss media ethics, examine case studies, and participate in role-plays and debates related to the various ethical dilemmas they might expect to face in media-related activities.

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