Ethical Journalism Newsletter: October 13, 2015

Ethical News And Debates

Gallup’s Commendable Decision Not to Poll in Primaries (Commentary)

Primaries are notoriously difficult to poll, because the competition within each party is often among candidates who do not differ much from each other. It’s very easy for voters to fluctuate in their preferences from one candidate to another, based on the latest piece of information they might hear – either in ads or in the news media. (Read more on iMediaEthics)

BuzzFeed to Produce Native Ads for Politicians

According to Politico, BuzzFeed is about to start a program creating native advertising for politicians and political causes. That’s not a conflict of interest; that’s climbing into bed and snuggling with interests. (Read more on FishbowlNY)

10 Times Politicians and Pundits Have Played the Nazi Card, and Why It Has to Stop

Saying ‘this is like the Nazis’ or ‘that is like the Holocaust’ is one of the great rhetorical temptations around and, unfortunately, too many succumb to it’s allure. Instead of saying clearly the characteristics of a certain person or policy you vehemently disagree with, pundits and politicians just lump it in with the Holocaust and call it a day. This is lazy and disingenuous. (Read more on the Huffington Post)

Female Technology Journalists Report Abuse Is Still The Name Of The Game

Women in tech forced to disguise their identity – and even quit the industry – after facing threats online, study finds. (Read more on The Guardian)

Hugh Hefner Follows Rupert Murdoch By Covering Up Female Models

The axing of Page 3 girls in January this year is being followed by the elimination of fully nude women in Playboy magazine. A decision seemingly more due to economic pressures rather than ethics. (Read more on The Guardian)

Events

Debate: Reporting the Refugee Crisis

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) cordially invites you to join us at a lunch time debate on ”Reporting the refugee crisis” on 20 October at 12:30 – 14:00 in Brussels organised by EFJ and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)

During the past few weeks the media all over Europe have been extensively reporting on the refugee and migrant crisis. Despite most of them reporting responsibly, a number of questions arose about the limits of publishing sensitive images. The debate will focus on the importance of ethical reporting, the roles and responsibilities of media and journalists in countering stereotypes and hate speech in traditional and online media. The panelists will try to address the key question raised: how to factually tell a human-focused story that is highly emotional, without sensationalism and dehumanising migrants and refugees?

For details see the EFJ website.

Living with a TV Regulator

How can you broadcast brave investigative journalism when you have a statutory regulator? It would be most investigative newspaper journalists’ idea of a nightmare. So how bad are Dorothy Byrne’s dreams?

Dorothy Byrne is Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4 Television. She was formerly the Editor of Channel Four’s Dispatches and of ITV’s The Big Story.

Dorothy began her television career at Granada TV as a journalist on local news and became a producer on World In Action. She was made a Fellow of The Royal Television Society for her “outstanding contribution to television”.

This is the second of a series of talks from Ethical Journalism Network (EJN). EJN is a coalition of media professional groups aiming to strengthen the craft of journalism around the world.

Time: November 11, 6pm
Speaker: Dorothy Byrne, Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4
Location: London