Let’s Discuss: Ethics and Engagement
Engagement presents unique ethical challenges for journalists. Join the Gather community for a series of chats that dig into three areas of engagement — and recommend people to help lead each chat.
When I was first approached about assisting the Gather community with creating ethical guidelines for engagement journalism, I thought, the ethical standards of journalism — no matter the medium — should be the same. Basically, the same ethical standards that apply to your front-page story or the lead story of your newscast should also apply to any tweet you are sending, Facebook post or Instagram story.
After thinking about it more and working with the community on a survey, I still think that is true, but I also think journalists working in engagement roles encounter unique challenges as they connect with communities more than others in media.
While there are ethics codes for journalists that may translate and that can be applied to these situations, I think it makes sense for this community of engaged journalists to talk through some of the scenarios you are facing and come up with some best practices. Let’s get some of what the engaged journalism community is already doing on paper so people can learn from each other, share best practices and develop them as time goes on.
So, that’s what we are going to do! Gather is holding a series of hour-long lightning chats over the next several months, and your voices and experiences as engaged journalists are vital to each conversation.
Here are the chat topics and dates:
Chat 1: Week of March 30, Ethics of Sharing and Using User Content
- In this chat, we will explore the difference in implicit permission and direct permission when it comes to sharing social posts, as well as talk about how you check the accuracy of content before re-sharing or republishing.
- For example: When can you share social posts in journalism coverage? When should you ask to share content from private Facebook groups? Does tagging your news outlet on social media equal permission to share? Etc.
Chat 2: Week of April 13, Community Members Guiding Editorial Decisions
- Engaged journalism is all about listening to the public’s needs and inviting communities to participate and collaborate in creating journalism. These practices help us democratize news and information; they also bring up ethical issues around editorial decision-making that each news organization needs to answer for their context.
- For example: When and how to share editorial decision-making with outside collaborators? What’s the role of public voices in impacting editorial decisions like story selection? Can community members act as fact-checkers or moderators in newsroom-hosted conversation spaces? Where’s the line between co-creation and editorial power, and how to be transparent? Etc.
Chat 3: Week of April 27, Economic Exchange Between the Newsroom and Community
- Economic exchange has been part of the journalism-community relationship since the field’s early days, but those exchanges were largely transactional. With engaged journalism focused on relational engagement, that means economic exchanges can become relational too. It’s not only about communities subscribing or becoming members; there are many questions around power that arise when engaged journalists consider the role economics plays in meeting the information needs of everyone in a community.
- For example: Can/should we compensate community members for participating in conversations or providing feedback? If so, when/how? Should we pay people for performing aspects of journalism? Is it OK to focus on engaging specific communities because you know it will help bring in advertisers? Can we partner with local organizations to fundraise for engagement work? Etc.
Chat 4: Week of May 4, Public Chat:
- In this chat, we’ll take best practices and questions to consider from the previous chats and present them to folks outside the journalism industry for feedback. What do they think about the best practices and questions for consideration we have come up with?
Who should be part of leading each conversation?
I’m looking for conversation leaders to help me create rich, nuanced discussions. What would leading mean? It would mean being willing to share what you have done in situations that resonate with the descriptions above, how you have come to those decisions about what to do, what policies have been developed and why, and what best practices have come out of your internal ethical discussions. I will be facilitating the conversations, so there is not that much preparation work required, just a willingness to share your expertise and best practices.
Are you interested? Or do you know someone who may be perfect for one of these topics? Let us know by filling out the form here.
Looking forward to leading these conversations with you and please contact me if you have any questions or concerns: Lynn.K.Walsh@gmail.com.
Lynn Walsh is the current Ethics Chair for the Society of Professional Journalists. She is also the Assistant Director for the Trusting News project.
