Codes
of conduct provide essential principles to guide actions of media and
journalists. A code of conduct may be
declared by an association or trade unions of journalists, a media house, a
regulatory body (such an EMB), or by individual journalists. Such codes are
most effective if they are the outcome of a collective process, however, in
which journalists and editors themselves participate. There are overarching
codes of conduct such as that agreed by the International Federation of
Journalists (http://www.ifj.org/about-ifj/ifj-code-of-principles/). This code of conduct enunciates several
principles that will be relevant to journalists in election coverage:
- Accuracy
- Impartiality
- Honesty and resistance to
corruption
- Avoiding the use of
language or sentiments that promote violence or discrimination
- Correction of inaccurate
factual reporting
A code
of conduct for election reporting will likely include a mixture of general
ethical standards, applicable in all circumstances, and those specific to
election periods. This is a possible check-list of standards, derived from International
IDEA’s (http://www.idea.int/) proposed code
of conduct (which is itself based upon many existing codes from different
countries):
- The first duty of a
journalist is to report accurately and without bias.
- A journalist shall report
only in accordance with facts of which s/he knows the origin. A journalist
shall not suppress essential information.
- A journalist shall observe
professional secrecy regarding the source of information obtained in
confidence.
- A journalist shall report
in a balanced manner. If a candidate makes an allegation against another
candidate, the journalist should seek comment from both sides wherever
possible.
- A journalist shall do the
utmost to correct any published information that is found to be harmfully
inaccurate.
- As far as possible, a
journalist shall report the views of candidates and political parties
directly and in their own words, rather than as they are described by
others.
- A journalist shall avoid
using language or expressing sentiments that may further discrimination or
violence on any grounds, including race, sex, sexual orientation,
language, religion, political or other opinions, and national or social
origins.
- When reporting the opinions
of those who do advocate discrimination or violence, a journalist shall do
the utmost to put such views in a clear context and to report the opinions
of those against whom such sentiments are directed.
- A journalist shall not
accept any inducement from a politician or candidate.
- A journalist shall not make
any promise to a politician about the content of a news report.
- A journalist shall take
care in reporting the findings of opinion polls. Any report should
wherever possible include the following information:
- who commissioned and
carried out the poll and when
- how many people were
interviewed, where and how were they interviewed and what is the margin
of error
- what was the exact wording
of the questions.
- A journalist shall regard
the following as grave professional offences:
- plagiarism
- malicious
misrepresentation
- calumny, slander, libel or
unfounded accusations
- acceptance of a bribe in
any form in consideration of either publication or suppression.
Many of these standards are examined in
greater detail in the following pages. The following are examples of
election-specific codes of conduct:
