Archive
13 Oct

Guidelines for guidelines: social media policies spark debate

Since everyone is on Twitter, we have to let journalists tweet away, unrestrained, writes Stephen J.A. Ward. But as newsrooms start to create editorial policies for social media, we need […]

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15 Sep

Journalism in the entrepreneurial age

Funding experiments are welcome and there’s nothing wrong with journalists looking for new ways to pay for reporting, writes Stephen J.A. Ward. But why assume funding from a foundation is […]

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16 Jun

Let the public help guide journalism ethics

ByStephen J. A. WardFor too long, journalists have indulged in cant about how their standards meet the expectations of the public, and how they seek public input on ethical issues. […]

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19 May

A new journalists creed

ByStephen J.A. Ward At a recent conference on the future of ethical journalism, several journalists argued that the current media revolution does not entail a revolution in ethics. Despite social […]

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27 Apr

The “torturous” struggle to state a fact

ByStephen J. A. Ward Critics have long accused objective reporters of hiding behind facts to avoid taking a stand on crucial issues.   How little these people know about the […]

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7 Apr

Is it time to close journalism schools?

ByStephen J. A. Ward Should we close journalism schools? Here are two reasons to question — or close — journalism schools: 1.    Anyone can be a journalist in this multimedia […]

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16 Mar

Is “layered journalism” the future?

ByStephen Ward Newspapers in peril, journalists laid off, ethical standards challenged, and the economic basis of mainstream journalism collapsing. We are witnessing more than the collapse of an economic model […]

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2 Mar

Getting rid of the mumbo jumbo: ethics for mixed media

ByStephen J.A. Ward The language of journalism ethics today is like bad Irish stew – a mishmash of different and conflicting ideas, rules, and practices. Ethical mumbo-jumbo. Consider two recent […]

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26 Jan

Tough times call for more ethics, not less

ByStephen Ward Doing ethics in journalism has never been easy. Across the history of modern journalism, journalists have struggled against economic and political powers to be independent and responsible public […]

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9 Dec

The incredible shrinking journalist

ByStephen J.A. Ward As we move towards a new year, I’ve been reflecting on the trajectory of journalism and how we teach it.   In such moments, it is natural […]

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