Impartiality taught from young age to journo’s at Reuters

‘We expect that you will act in the best interests of Thomson Reuters and avoid conflicts of interest by making reasoned and impartial decisions’ – Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Reuters

Reuters would not be Reuters without freedom from bias. We are a “stateless” news service that welcomes diversity into our newsrooms but asks all staff to park their nationality and politics at the door. This neutrality is a hallmark of our news brand and allows us to work on all sides of an issue, conflict or dispute without any agenda other than accurate, fair reporting.

Take no side, tell all sides

As Reuters journalists, we never identify with any side in an issue, a conflict or a dispute. Our text and visual stories need to reflect all sides, not just one. This leads to better journalism because it requires us to stop at each stage of newsgathering and ask ourselves “What do I know?” and “What do I need to know?”

The 10 Absolutes of Reuters Journalism

• Always hold accuracy sacrosanct
• Always correct an error openly
• Always strive for balance and freedom from bias
• Always reveal a conflict of interest to a manager
• Always respect privileged information
• Always protect their sources from the authorities
• Always guard against putting their opinion in a news story
• Never fabricate or plagiarise
• Never alter a still or moving image beyond the requirements of normal image enhancement
• Never pay for a story and never accept a bribe

Source: Reuters Handbook for Journalism Freedom from Bias and Standards and Values

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles

The Trust Principles are:

1. That Thomson Reuters shall at no time pass into the hands of any one interest, group or faction;
2. That the integrity, independence and freedom from bias of Thomson Reuters shall at all times be fully preserved;
3. That Thomson Reuters shall supply unbiased and reliable news services to newspapers, news agencies, broadcasters and other media subscribers and to businesses governments, institutions, individuals and others with whom Thomson Reuters has or may have contracts;
4. That Thomson Reuters shall pay due regard to the many interests which it serves in addition to those of the media; and
5. That no effort shall be spared to expand, develop and adapt the news and other services and products so as to maintain its leading position in the international news and information business.

Source: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles

How do you maintiain impartiality when writing about competitors?

This is obviously a dilemma for journalists – professional objectivity & impartiality vs loyalty for your news outlet. Writing about a competitor whilst keeping it completely impartial is a massive challenge, but hopefully the ever-useful BBC College of Journalism’s Blog will go some way towards helping.

The Middle East – Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera: The Doha-based Pan-Arab news channel. REUTERS/Caren Firouz

Al Jazeera is the Qatar-based satellite news channel. It’s the largest provider of news in the Arabic world, being launched in 1996. It also has its very own English version of the news channel, plus a website – a first for the Middle East. It has seen a significant rise in prominence post-9/11, and has been highly controversial:

This Arab news channel is often portrayed in the West as a purveyor of anti-American bile that incites violence in Iraq, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

It has also been widely used to air terrorist rhetoric, particularly with Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. For the Middle East this was groundbreaking. This type of free, independent media in a relatively conservative corner of the globe was something that hadn’t been seen before. Media restriction in powerful Middle Eastern states is still prevalent: Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria to name but a few.

It is a phenomenon in the Arab world, a comparatively free, bold initiative in journalism.

Osama bin Laden broadcasting one of many messages through Al Jazeera

So what values, if any, does the news channel adhere to? Al Jazeera does in fact have in place a Code of Ethics.

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1. Adhere to the journalistic values of honesty, courage, fairness, balance, independence, credibility and diversity, giving no priority to commercial or political considerations over professional ones.

2. Endeavour to get to the truth and declare it in our dispatches, programmes and news bulletins unequivocally in a manner which leaves no doubt about its validity and accuracy.

3. Treat our audiences with due respect and address every issue or story with due attention to present a clear, factual and accurate picture while giving full consideration to the feelings of victims of crime, war, persecution and disaster, their relatives and our viewers, and to individual privacy and public decorum.

4. Welcome fair and honest media competition without allowing it to affect adversely our standards of performance so that getting a “scoop” will not become an end in itself.

5. Present diverse points of view and opinions without bias or partiality.

6. Recognise diversity in human societies with all their races, cultures and beliefs and their values and intrinsic individualities in order to present unbiased and faithful reflection of them.

7. Acknowledge a mistake when it occurs, promptly correct it and ensure it does not recur.

8. Observe transparency in dealing with news and news sources while adhering to internationally established practices concerning the rights of these sources.

9. Distinguish between news material, opinion and analysis to avoid the pitfalls of speculation and propaganda.

10. Stand by colleagues in the profession and offer them support when required, particularly in light of the acts of aggression and harassment to which journalists are subjected at times. Cooperate with Arab and international journalistic unions and associations to defend freedom of the press.

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Now just watch this video and see if it adheres to any of the above.