ABSTRACT
Journalism is about providing truthful information of consequence to citizens in a democracy. One way to think about journalism ethics is that it involves the kinds of situations in which something or someone gets in the way of a journalist being able to meet the letter and the spirit of that definition. Being a journalist is voluntary, so when we take on the role of journalist, we are voluntarily taking on a set of responsibilities related to that role. In thinking about ethics, what we are attempting to do is translate the broader principles of journalism into specific actions by real people. The codes of ethics show how the journalism profession has translated general ethical duties into the sphere of journalism practice. Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.
