digital journalism ethics
DESCRIPTION
These are slides for an ethics workshop for the staff of the Las Cruces Sun-NewsTRANSCRIPT
Digital JournalismEthics
Steve ButtryLas Cruces Sun-News
November 2013#DigitalEthics
SPJ Code of Ethics*• Seek truth & report it• Minimize harm• Act independently• Be accountable
* Committee considering an update
Poynter Guiding Principles*• Truthfulness• Transparency• Community
*Updated this year
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Context helps verify• Check profile (name, bio, link)• Check timeline (what do earlier
tweets/updates tell you?)• Check followers & timelines (replies, RTs)• Expand tweets to see conversation• Follow; DM or tweet asking for interview• Make screen grabs (they might delete)
Vetting & verifying• Track back RTs, etc.
to source • Look for clusters • Location enabled? • Evaluate the network• Evaluate the history
• Links, photos? • Take it old school• Disclose, hedge,
repeat • Be brave only in
correction
Tips from Craig Silverman, Regret the Error
Evaluating tweeps• How long have they been tweeting?• Check previous tweets, interaction• Check bio, links• Check Klout score• Google name and scam, spammer• Contact & interview
Tips from Mandy Jenkins, Zombie Journalism
Verification• Treat social media as tip service• Consider situation, content, contextAlways ask:• How do you know that?• How do they know that?
If your mother says she loves you …
• Check her Twitter timeline, bio, links• Check her Facebook posts• Check followers & friends• Google her
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Verifying imagesPlaces to verify images:http://www.google.com/imageshttp://tineye.comhttp://karmadecay.com/ http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102787/The-Process-of-Verification.aspx
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Guidelines on opinions• Situation guides whether opinions are
appropriate• Discuss w/ editor whether opinions are
appropriate for your position• Consult if pushing boundaries• You can be personable without
expressing opinions
Opinion types• Analysis• Personal perspective• Commentary• Advocacy• Off your beat (news reporter stating
sports or entertainment opinions)• Journalism issues
Opinion formats• Editorial• Column• Blog (doesn’t have to be opinion)• Social media• Comments on stories• Public appearances (radio, civic clubs)
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Personal vs. pro• Always identify on personal accounts (or
disclose to boss)• Even if account is private, behave
professionally• Be personable on pro account
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Corrections• Acknowledge the error & say what it was• Verify before correcting• Correct in platforms where you erred• For serious errors, reach out to those
who have RT’d, shared, linked• Examine processes to prevent future
errors.
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Plagiarism …… is a firing offense. Don’t:• Lift passages from other sources without
attribution & link
Plagiarism …… is a firing offense. Don’t:• Lift passages from other sources without
attribution & link• Lift quotes from other media w/o
attribution (to media, not just speaker)
Plagiarism …… is a firing offense. Don’t:• Lift passages from other sources without
attribution & link• Lift quotes from other media w/o
attribution (to media, not just speaker)• Lift from press release without
attribution (& link if it’s online)
Plagiarism …… is a firing offense. Don’t:• Lift passages from other sources without
attribution & link• Lift quotes from other media w/o
attribution (to media, not just speaker)• Lift from press release without
attribution (& link if it’s online)• Rewrite w/o attribution & link
Links = good business• Better SEO for better search traffic• Pingbacks, alerts from links bring direct
traffic• Pingbacks, alerts from links may bring
new inbound links & social mentions• Links = traffic = revenue = journo jobs
Links = good journalism• Context• Depth• Attribution• Credibility• Clarity• Honesty• Transparency
Attribution in social media• Native “share” or “retweet” carries
attribution• RT or MT (modified tweet) if adding
comment• HT or h/t for “heard through” or “hat tip”• Not necessary to repeat attribution
endlessly in livetweeting
Embeds > links• Embeds are the ultimate attribution• Embed tweets, videos, slides, source
documents• Facebook & Instagram recently added
embed codes• Embedding tools: Storify, Spundge,
Scribd, Document Cloud, SlideShare
No attribution needed:• What you witnessed personally• Common knowledge• Calendar (unless quoting); source is
implied• If you re-report, acknowledge that you
weren’t first, but don’t need heavy attribution to other media
Cut & pasteCutting & pasting from digital sources can ensure quoting accurately. But:• Attribute & link before pasting• Paste into quotation marks or block
quote • Color code in notes to identify sources• Sloppiness is guilty plea, not excuse
Linking as BS detectionJournalists covering Manti Te’o’s story of girlfriend would have exposed the hoax by seeking links to:• Obituary• Story or police report about accident• Girlfriend’s activities at Stanford(She did have bogus social media profiles.)
Effective attribution• Write stories with links: Digital First• Attribute to other media by name,
including competition, not “media reports” or “a blogger”
• Active voice, not “was reported”• Attribute to press releases• Embed tweets, videos
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Transparency• Social media profiles used professionally
should ID you by name & newsroom• Identify in email & social messages• State when inquiries are for publication• Show your work, using links & embeds• State when working on a story• What should you disclose?
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Using social media photos• Ask for permission to use photo (person
posting might not have rights)• Embeds carry permission• Screen grab of FB page is better than just
copying (context, transformative)• Verify authenticity• Explain context
Ethical issues• Accuracy &
verification• Verifying images• Opinions• Personal vs. pro
social media use
• Corrections• Attribution• Transparency• Crowdsourcing• Social media photos• Confidential sources
Confidentiality issues• Don’t call source anonymous if you know
identity • Why does source want confidentiality
(whistleblower, unsure of facts, avoiding confidentiality)?
• If unsure of facts, say you wouldn’t use as source, just for tips
Confidentiality issues• Be demanding of sources approaching
you who want confidentiality• Don’t give confidentiality to the powerful
& eager • No opinions w/o names• Ask source for documentation• Tell source you’ll seek other sources
Technology issues• Government surveillance of you or
source could compromise confidentiality• Definitely an issue in national security
cases, but possibly local & state, too• Use encryption• Consider “burner cells”• Meet face to face
Ethics resources• Guiding Principles for the Journalist• Telling the Truth and Nothing But ebook• Verification Handbook (due out in Jan.)• SPJ Code of Ethics (last updated 1996)• Regret the Error blog & book• New Ethics of Journalism book• stevebuttry.wordpress.com
Call me any timeEthics questions are important & urgent. I’ll respond quickly if you tell me you’re dealing with an ethics question. Call me at 267-697-9275; if that doesn’t work, email me: [email protected]