WaTimes Issues New Ethics Policies
FishbowlDC has obtained the following internal document from the Washington Times, which outlines new ethics procedures and policies:
WASHINGTON TIMES CONFLICT OF INTERESTS RULES June 5, 2008 Every newsroom employee has an obligation to avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest, whenever possible. This means restricting behavior that might be acceptable or even commonplace in other corners of the corporate world. In their simplest terms, our professional ethics require each newsroom employee to avoid any activities that might cause a reasonable person to question the quality or impartiality of our work. As a result, every potential activity from travel to social involvement outside the office must be tested against these standards.
Read the rest after the jump…
cont’d…
First, we neither solicit nor accept any gifts, free trips, free restaurant meals, free lodging or preferential treatment that might be provided because of the positions we hold. We decline any free admission to events or meals that members of the public must pay for _ unless we are being admitted as credentialed reporters/photographers/editors for the purpose of newsgathering. Such admittances would include press booths at sporting events or the press galleries at political conventions. In those cases, we use such credentialed access, such as movie or concert review passes, solely for professional news coverage, not for personal enjoyment. There are no exceptions to these rules. When in doubt, always pay your own way. If a news source refuses to accept payment or reimbursement for the meal, event or accommodation that was provided solely for news coverage or source development, we will make a donation to a charity in the amount of what any other paying guest or attendee would have paid. If an unsolicited gift is sent to any newsroom employee or the newsroom itself from a potential news source, it must be returned to the sender with a polite note explaining our ethics rules don’t allow for the receipt of such gifts. The Executive Editor, Managing Editor or a Deputy Managing Editor must review the note before it is sent. It should be prepared within a week of receipt of the gift. If the gift is perishable and could be ruined during the time it takes to return it, it may be donated to a charity. In those cases, a note should be sent back to the provider explaining why we donated the gift and the name of the charity that benefited from the donation.
We recognize that many outside activities, positions and jobs are incompatible with professional journalism and the role of an independent newspaper, and thus can create actual conflicts of interest or the appearances of such conflicts that can erode the confidence of our readers. As a result, no newsroom employee may work or volunteer for any company, agency, group or person outside of The Washington Times without the direct, written permission of a senior supervisor. These limitations extend to freelance opportunities and paid speaking engagements.
Sound journalism ethics also require that every newsroom employee avoid active involvement in any political activities, community affairs, protests and demonstrations that could cause readers to question our ability to report and edit fairly. We cannot impose these same requirements on relatives. However, we must require each newsroom employee to disclose to superiors any business, professional or community ties that his or her immediate family members _ spouses, children, parents, siblings _ are engaged in that could be affected by Times’ coverage. The antiseptic of disclosure enables managers to proactively avoid any assignments that might create actual or apparent conflicts of interest.
Reporters and editors who work in the coverage of business news have an added obligation to disclose to their superiors any financial holdings and stock investments and to recuse themselves from coverage involving any company, person or entity with whom they hold a financial interest. This mandate to avoid financial conflicts of interests extends beyond business reporters and editors, however. All employees in the newsroom have an obligation to recuse themselves from stories when they hold stock or another form of investment in the parties involved in that story, or when they can materially benefit in any other way.
Similarly, when a newsroom employee learns that the Times, one of its employees or one of its affiliates has a financial stake, involvement or interest in a story, they are obligated to disclose that information to readers in the story. For instance, when CNN reports news involving its parent, Time Warner, it discloses its connection to the parent company.
Finally, every newsroom employee must make every reasonable effort to be free of actual or perceived obligation to news sources and to special interests, recognizing that both private and professional behavior must never bring discredit upon the Times or the journalism profession. To that end, our first rule is to avoid any entanglement or personal involvement with those whose positions render them likely to be subjects of journalistic interest and examination. If a reporter or editor does unwittingly become entangled with a news source, he or she is obligated to immediately disclose to management the nature and circumstances of that involvement and to recuse himself or herself from any further professional coverage of that source.
The importance of this policy cannot be over-emphasized. Anyone who engages in any aspect of news coverage or editing while having an actual or apparent conflict of interest will be subject to discipline. Anyone who fails to disclose an actual or apparent conflict of interest will also be subject to discipline. And any supervisor who is informed of an apparent or real conflict of interest by any subordinate must act promptly in accordance with these rules to ensure that the integrity of the newsroom and its work remains unblemished.
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Nadine Cheung
Editor, The Job Post
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