Ethical Journalism Newsletter: August 28, 2015

Ethical News And Debates

Pakistan Lays Down the Law on Ethics To Tame Unruly Broadcasters

When media fail to take action to curb ethical malpractice in their newsrooms you can be sure the Government will step in and do it for them. That’s what happened this week in Pakistan.

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Here’s who is and isn’t redacting the explicit NY Daily News front

Many publications are blurring or otherwise redacting today’s controversial New York Daily News front showing three stills from the chilling first-person video of the murder of two journalists. The ethics of using the stills, which have been widely criticized on social media, have been debated among journalists because of their graphic nature. (Read more on Poynter)

As legacy media cuts back on FOIA, digital-only news outlets step in

Ask any journalist and they’ll tell you the Freedom of Information Act process is broken. Denials are at record highs, navigating the bureaucracy can be a nightmare, and the federal agencies recently killed a modest reform bill. But a series of FOIA lawsuits also have just shown how the 50-year-old transparency law can still be indispensable. (Read more on Columbia Journalism Review)

The language of migration: refugee vs. migrant

What is the difference between a migrant and a refugee, and which term describes a person crossing the Mediterranean Sea seeking asylum in Europe? (Read more on Poynter)

Resources

International Journalists’ Network (IJNet) introduces new journalism safety toolkit

Throughout the toolkit, you’ll find IJNet’s resource articles and tips sheets on how to protect yourself in tough environments — be it physical safety or digital security. Many of the articles are translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian and Chinese, so you can share them with a broader community. IJNet has also compiled a list of helpful handbooks and guides from other organizations whose missions revolve around keeping journalists out of harm’s way.

See the toolkit at this link.