Category Archives: Ethics in the News

Brian Stelter to exit CNN; ‘Reliable Sources’ canceled in first major programming decision of CEO Chris Licht

Jim Angell, press freedom advocate who dedicated his life to helping Wyoming journalists, dies at age 64

Book: Journalist Wallace Carroll believed reporting what’s really going on a better standard than objectivity

Abortion story involving 10-year-old rape victim reaffirms need for journalists to aggressively seek facts

Viral Abortion Story Shows How Fact Checkers Shouldn’t Publish Until They Have … Facts – Nieman Reports

Some journalists were quick to doubt the story of the 10-year-old rape victim’s pregnancy, revealing the challenge of covering sensitive stories

Some media outlets showed skepticism of the story of the 10-year-old rape victim’s pregnancy following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, revealing the challenge of these types of stories

If you are reporting on or fact-checking a case involving a

Chris Cuomo tries to put CNN in rearview with new gig at NewsNation: ‘I want to build something special here’

Profiting from lies: How Alex Jones and a small radio network shaped today’s misinformation economy

continue to shed light on the economics that help to drive misleading and false claims across the media landscape.

The proliferation of falsehoods and misleading content, especially heading into the midterm elections this fall, is often blamed on credulous audiences and a widening partisan divide. Misinformation can also be hugely profitable, not just for the boldface names like Mr. Jones, but also for the companies that host websites, serve ads or syndicate content in the background.

“Misinformation exists for

Sarasota Herald-Tribune deletes op-ed praising members of violent, white nationalist group Proud Boys

Conservative radio hosts reaching tens of millions of people promote unfounded claim that Democrats cheat

The Hill opinion contributor: News media have promoted Donald Trump for decades; it’s time to stop

From mental health to cost of out-of-state travel, relevant abortion stories go beyond political back-and-forth

Justice Thomas wants Court to revisit standard that makes it difficult for public figures to win libel cases

Thomas wants Supreme Court to revisit long-standing media libel precedent

The Supreme Court declined to revisit the First Amendment decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, the 1964 ruling that set the strict standard for public figures to claim libel, on Monday.

Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter in the high court’s decision to turn away an appeal from a Christian nonprofit group that challenged its characterization by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights watchdog.

“I would

Physicians for Reproductive Health offers guidance for “accurate and compassionate” reporting on abortion

News outlets reminding journalists of established rules forbidding them from expressing views on abortion

Experts say an ethics conflict should have prevented Savannah Guthrie from interviewing Amber Heard

NY Times tells staffers of recently acquired The Athletic they can no longer publicly post political beliefs

USA Today removes 23 stories; reporter accused of fabricating sources, attributing quotes to wrong persons

Fox News, the leading cable news network, skips broadcast of prime-time hearing on Jan. 6 Capitol attack

Propaganda masquerading as news stories often looks real and confirms biases of some who read it

CNN: Supreme Court demands law clerks’ phone records during aggressive investigation of draft opinion leak

CNN acknowledges overuse of its ‘Breaking News’ banner, establishes guidelines for when to display it

Should news outlets show graphic images of mass shooting victims to illustrate the horror of the event?

Texas school shooting renews debate about appropriate trauma journalism practices: ‘We can do better’

Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma compiles resources for journalists working on Texas school shooting

Journalists shouldn’t hide their humanity amid awful stories: ‘While we are all professionals, we are all people’

Poynter pulls together notable news reporting, opinion writing and comments about Texas school shooting

Groups want journalists to withhold identity of mass shooting suspects; say it would reduce future cases

Group wants news organizations to limit focus on mass shooting suspects to deny notoriety they crave

AP incorrectly reports Texas state senator said school gunman killed his grandmother; retracts story

Hawaii law provides press freedom protection for student journalists who publish school-sponsored media

Former CBS News foreign correspondent now promotes falsehoods about COVID deaths, Capitol attack

Buffalo gunman cited racist conspiracy theory Fox News host Tucker Carlson helped push into mainstream

Will Politico journalists get swept into investigation of Supreme Court draft opinion leak despite lack of crime?

Kelly McBride: Outdated rules stifle newsroom discussions on how to capture complexity of abortion debate

Conservative media focus more on leak of Supreme Court draft abortion opinion than its implications

Politico editors might assuage any ethical concerns over its Supreme Court scoop by explaining backstory

Washington Post journalist Philip Bump: ‘The media needs to be proactive about rising to its own defense’

Groups condemn sheriff for intimidating reporter over story about an attempted inmate abuse cover-up

Sitting on news to sell books: Journalists are saving first drafts of history for history books they author

Roy Peter Clark: Redefined view of objectively allows journalists to stray from neutrality, but not too far

White House-to-newsroom pipeline may worsen public’s perceptions of both politics and journalism

New owners of longtime independent New Mexico newspaper include prominent Republican Party members

Taylor Lorenz skewers MSNBC; claims online harassment against her surged after participating in interview

Study finds skeptical news consumers spend little time assessing trustworthiness of news outlets’ stories

CBS News hopes Mick Mulvaney, who reinforced Trump’s lies, will provide access to his political kin

Jen Psaki says there’s no ethical problem negotiating new job with MSNBC while working for White House

Chris Wallace on why he left Fox News for CNN: “I just no longer felt comfortable with the programming”

Science writer Carl Zimmer to explore reporting on the pandemic at annual media ethics symposium

Social media companies grapple with how to ethically address graphic images of war violence, hateful speech

A challenge to journalists from news consumers: “We don’t want our opinions of the world to change”

Reporter Jessica Contrera wins Anthony Shadid journalism ethics award for stories on child sex trafficking

Study suggests newsrooms can combat misinformation and build reader trust with public corrections