My Journalism Ethics

Here's a brief overview of the principles that think are important and will abide by as a journalist:

What does mathematics and ethics have in common?

Both are centered around relationships. Math is the study of relationships between objects and numbers. And ethics matter because we have relationships with other people and our actions affect them. So my ethical construct will be categorized by the relationship involved.

With My Employer:

• I will complete the number of stories I am required to by my deadlines.
• If I must miss a deadline I will let my employer know in advance and explain why.
• I will abide by limits by my employer restraining my personal political activism within reason.

With My Audience:

• I will seek to help my audience understand their world better.
• With some stories this will mean giving little more than the hard facts and letting readers draw their own conclusions
• With more complex stories I will insert more of my own interpretation of events so that the audience can understand what is happening. I will try to keep my opinion to a minimum--using it only as much as is necessary for readers understand an issue well enough to form an opinion.
• If I do write an op-ed or other overtly opinion oriented article, my commitment will be to the truth, not to a special interest. (William Safire-style.)
• I will provide sources for my material (to the extent that I am able to)
• Names of human sources
• Studies where my statistics come from 
• etc.
• When I need to use a source anonymously I will explain to readers why I chose to.
• I will become a masterful writer
• There's enough poorly written journalism already
• I will read good books
• I will keep a clear head and continue to develop critical thinking skills
• I will not indulge in sensationalism.
• I will disclose ties I have to subjects involved in my articles.

With My Sources

• I will respect on/off record arrangements
• As long as they are made before the interview
• I will be lenient if the person should not have known better
• I will not necessarily go to jail to protect my sources. I'd probably give in to a subpoena out of respect for rule of law and obligation to my family to not go to jail needlessly.
• I will treat them respectfully.
• I will verify what they tell mew though other means as much as possible.