Media ethics - Topics

What is the role of anonymous sources in journalism? Why do news outlets use "unnamed sources" so often? How do whistleblowers connect with journalists? What is native advertising and is it ethical? What are newsroom ethics policies and how are they enforced? How do news outlets maintain editorial independence from advertisers? How do journalists protect their sources? When the team you cover is also your outlet's business partner: access journalism in sports Why newspapers built a wall between the newsroom and the opinion page Self-censorship: the censorship nobody orders Locker room access is a privilege: how reporters balance candor and gatekeeping The chilling effect: how one libel case changes what an entire newsroom dares to publish Are drone shots over protests fair game for news photographers Staged hope and fired photographers: what faking it costs a newsroom Why do journalism schools teach ethics for one semester and newsrooms practice it for thirty years? Who watches the watchdogs when newsrooms get a big story wrong? Cheering in the press box and other unwritten rules of the job Covering suicides responsibly: why guidelines say to skip method details Reporting on private citizens who go viral: the consent they never gave Press councils in Europe: teeth or toothless talking shops? Ethics audits inside newsrooms: real review or annual box-ticking? The dark art of the splash: how tabloids pick tomorrow's scandal SPJ Code of Ethics: four principles every reporter memorizes and every budget cut ignores Privacy in the headlines: when does coverage become intrusion? Blurring faces and bleeping names: how media protect minors in coverage Eyewitness video and trauma: why filming can be both a coping mechanism and a burden Catch and kill: is the National Enquirer practice journalism or opposition research Deepfakes of politicians: what ethical newsrooms refuse to publish How the phone hacking scandal brought down News of the World Naming crime suspects before trial: presumption of innocence vs the right to know Should journalists accept gifts from sources they cover? Filming people at their worst moment: the ethics every phone reporter faces