Ethics Lesson Plan

Ethics 101:
The Values, Standards and Practices of Citizen Journalism

REPRESENTING YOURSELF
Role of the journalist
What is objectivity? Difference between advocacy and newsgathering
Introducing yourself
Making things clear to unsophisticated sources
Make no promises - no unnamed sources


STEERING CLEAR OF CONFLICTS
What is a conflict?
Independence
Disclose ties, influences or associations that could present a conflict
Do not write about friends, relatives or people with whom you have a financial interest
Accept no freebies, favors or special privileges


THOROUGHNESS AND ACCURACY
Don't say something is so unless you know it is so - check and double check.
Get your facts from multiple, first hand sources
Follow the story where it leads


TRANSPARENCY
Attribution - Making the source of your information clear
Make your vantage point clear. Were you at the meeting? If not, say so.
How many people did you talk to?
Quotes are verbatim records of what was said to you directly.
Don't use unattributed sources of information
Correct mistakes promptly, completely.


FAIRNESS
Diligently seek out all sides of a story
Never use information that casts a person in a negative light without giving them the opportunity to respond.

Discussion:

1. An alderman offers to take you to lunch. Do you go?
2. Five citizens at a CAPS meeting complain to police that a house at 123 Maple Street is being used to sell drugs, despite repeated calls to police from neighbors who witness drug deals. Can you use this information? How?
3. You once worked part-time at Wal-Mart. Can you cover a local effort to keep Wal-Mart out of the neighborhood?
4. At a local schools council meeting, a parent asks you if you would be interested in buying some candy for a schools fundraiser. You haven't eaten all day. Can you buy?
5.You are reporting on an emergency food drive at a local food bank, when an enormous truck pulls up and begins unloading pallets of food. The director tells you that the food is a one-time donation from a benefactor who heard about the crisis, but asks you not to put that in your story because it will undermine the food drive. Should you use the information?
6. Your editor assigns you to a story about a Planned Parenthood clinic opening. You have participated in pro-choice rallies. Can you cover the story?
7. The organizer of an anti-violence rally you are covering asks you not to include the fact that a fight broke out during the program. Do you include it?