Journalistic Code of Ethics

Journalistic ethics must function on both an individual and organizational level. All parts of the organization should work together to ensure that all of our content is produced and disseminated in an ethical manner. All work must be vetted in order to protect the individual journalist and the organization. The following Code of Ethics affirms our commitment to truth, transparency, and the integrity of our mission.

Accuracy

• Be honest, accurate, truthful, and fair. Do not distort or fabricate facts, imagery, sound, or data.
• Take responsibility for the accuracy of all information that we publish by ensuring that every story has been assigned, supervised, and finally approved by at least one editor.
• Do not edit audio or video in such a way that creates misleading or false perceptions. Be aware of the political implications of various images, maps, flags, that are used as b-roll. 
• Provide accurate context for all reporting and analysis.
• Independently verify allegations and facts before publishing them and provide information on the process of that verification when possible. 
• Be transparent. Correct errors quickly, completely, and visibly, and remove material that is inaccurate but cannot be corrected, while noting the removal, replacement, or correction. Make it easy for your audience to bring errors to your attention.
• If content contains a factual error, delete or edit the original post and publish a corrected version with an indication that we’ve made a correction.
• Keep promises to your sources, audience, and community.
• Avoid “false balance.”

Conflicts of Interest and Transparency

• Do not skew your reporting for sources, organizations, or anyone else under any circumstances.
• Do not allow the interests of donors, foundations, or others funding your work to affect the integrity of your work.
• Do not change stories as a result of pressure from political or financial interests. 
• Avoid any conflict of interest that undermines your ability to report fairly. Disclose to your audience any unavoidable conflicts or other situational factors that may validly affect their judgment of your credibility.
• Disclose any relevant affiliations for transparency. If you are or have been personally involved in the specific issues or organizations you are covering, disclose these involvements to your editor and in your coverage.
• Be aware of personal biases that can skew your reporting, even if you conduct no public activity indicating a political bias.
• Do not accept gifts of any sort by the people or organizations you are covering. You may, however, accept honoraria and travel stipends in order to present in an area of expertise, but not to report on the party providing the funding. Donations should go through the Development Department. Any possible exceptions will be determined by the Editor- in- Chief and disclosed in the reporting.
• Do not endorse or support political candidates, including with financial donations, participation in demonstrations, or display of campaign signs, stickers, or apparel in your professional capacity representing TRNN, or while using TRNN’s resources.
• The Real News is transparent about all funding sources. Disclose those sources in a story if they are related to the issue being reported on.

Plagiarism and Attribution

• Do not plagiarize, fabricate, exaggerate, or violate copyrights.
• Always attribute all sources by name and, if the source is digital, by linking to the original source.
• Always cite press releases if they are your sources, and quote them if using their exact words.
• When using substantial material from our archives or from a contributor’s previous work in another publication in a current story, we should note that the material has been previously published.
• Do not use audio or video to which we do not have the rights. You may use Fair Use material.
• Always credit the sources of any audio or visual content that you use.

Sources: Reliability and Attribution

• Never pay a source.
• Ensure that sources are reliable. To the maximum extent possible, make clear to your audience who and what your sources are, what motives your sources may have, and any conditions sources have set for giving you information. 
• If using sources with a conflict of interest in stories, details that signal the conflict of interest should be included (e.g. a scientist who conducted a study about a drug’s effectiveness when the study was funded by the manufacturer).
• When sourcing public comments, identify where their comments were found (e.g. through Twitter) and, where possible, use links for attribution to posts.
• Acknowledge the work of other organizations and reporters your story relies on, in the story itself and through links when available. 
• Seek diverse sources, both in specific stories and in routine beat coverage.

Sources: Confidentiality and Discretion

• Use confidential sources sparingly to provide important information that cannot be obtained through on-the-record sources. 
• Disclose to our audience the reasons for granting confidentiality, such as fear for the source’s safety or job, when we use unnamed sources.
• Respect your audience and your subjects. Consider how your work and its permanence may affect the subjects of your reporting, your community and ­the larger world. Be as thoughtful as possible about the impact of your reporting on individuals who have less power or privilege than you as the journalist/TRNN.
• Provide warnings for sensitive/graphic material. 
• Do not publish names of sexual assault victims unless they agree to speak on the record.
• Seek permission from a parent/guardian to interview or photograph a child.

Interviewing

• Never pay for interviews.
• We may pay for rights to photographs and video.
• Seek out diverse voices, especially those impacted by the subject of the story.
• Articles and reports should state the method of interviewing (i.e., whether it was in person, by telephone, video, or email) if doing so enhances the context of the interview and article.
• You may read parts of stories to sources in order to check facts or make sure they understand technical points and procedures, but you should make clear to the sources that you are only checking facts, not providing an opportunity to change the writing or approach to the story.
• Editors reserve the right not to publish revisions that do not clarify or correct misstated facts.
• We do not permit undercover reporting except in extraordinary situations when multiple editors have approved and provided oversight. 

Social Media

• You are free to express opinions on your personal social media.
• TRNN’s social media team will edit or delete inaccurate social media posts so people who haven’t seen the corrections will not spread them on social media. We will note that we have edited or deleted inaccurate posts.
• When communicating with and about people in dangerous situations, such as war, crime or disaster zones, consider the safety and security of people depicted or addressed in your social media content.
• Be as thoughtful as possible about your posts’ impact on your community, your colleagues, and those most vulnerable. 

Freelance Work by Employees

• Journalists may accept freelance assignments if that story identifies the journalist as working for Real News. Journalists may not work on those assignments while on the clock at The Real News, except in extraordinary circumstances that have been approved by an editor.

News and Advertising

• The Real News does not accept corporate funding.