https://www.propublica.org/article/instagram-fraudster-ban-influencer-accounts
Ethics in Journalism
What is ethics?
Merriam Webster
Definition of ethic
1 ethics plural in form but singular or plural in construction: the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation
2 a: a set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral values
Every good news organization has a handbook with a written policy or guidelines that spell out the way they want journalists to act while gathering and reporting the news. Managers, editors, producers, reporters, photographers and anyone who works in serious journalism takes these guidelines to heart and tries to follow them.
While there may be some corporate deviation, standards remain pretty much the same from one organization to another.
Remember:
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America says:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to freely assemble, and petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
So we have a mandate to report and cover the news and how we do it is critically important.
We have basic values.
We tell the truth.
We remain independent and as objective as humanly possible.
We report fairly giving all sides of a story and giving multiple viewpoints of a story when possible.
We work to present a rounded picture of what we are reporting with context.
We are accountable. We report what we know and stand behind our work and correct errors.
Journalists serve the public
The New York Times puts its guidelines online
Other news organizations do the same. For example:
The foundation of journalism ethics is simple.
This list reflects the Code of Ethics created by the Society for Professional Journalists.
1. Report fairly and accurately
a. To do that you need to make sure that you verify what people tell you.
How do you do that? By finding more than one source for the information.
2. Avoid conflicts of interest. If you do have an interest in the story you want to disclose it upfront.
3. Do not take gifts, favors, free travel or other perks that could compromise your reporting.
4. Distinguish news from advertising or native content.
4. Update your story to make sure that it is accurate. Things change.
5. Be careful about making promises to people you interview.
6. Identify your sources clearly.
7. Consider your sources’ motives. Why are they talking to you? What is their bias?
8. Be careful about granting someone anonymity. An anonymous source may have a
motive to stay hidden that could undermine the truthfulness of the story. If you use
an anonymous source, explain why.
9. Make every effort to get both sides of a story. Make sure if people are accused of something that you give them every opportunity to respond. This may take extra work.
10. Use undercover reporting only when you must and then explain why you chose to do it.
11. Hold the powerful accountable.
12. Give voice to the powerless.
13. Avoid stereotyping.
14. Label advocacy and commentary.
15. Do not distort information including visual presentations. Make sure that you label re-enactments clearly.
16. Never plagiarize.
17 . Always attribute.
18. Be accountable and transparent.
a. Correct mistakes quickly.
b. Respond to criticism.
c. Explain your ethical choices.
New York Times Story About Rupert Murdoch
Murdoch Acknowledges Fox News Hosts Endorsed Election Fraud Falsehoods
Rupert Murdoch, the conservative media mogul, spoke under oath last month in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems.
By Jeremy W. Peters and Katie Robertson
Feb. 27, 2023
6 MIN READ
Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the conservative media empire that owns Fox News, acknowledged in a deposition that several hosts for his networks promoted the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald J. Trump, and that he could have stopped them but didn’t, court documents released on Monday showed.
“They endorsed,” Mr. Murdoch said under oath in response to direct questions about the Fox hosts Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo, according to a legal filing by Dominion Voting Systems. “I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight,” he added, while also disclosing that he was always dubious of Mr. Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud.
Asked whether he doubted Mr. Trump, Mr. Murdoch responded: “Yes. I mean, we thought everything was on the up-and-up.” At the same time, he rejected the accusation that Fox News as a whole had endorsed the stolen election narrative. “Not Fox,” he said. “No. Not Fox.”
Mr. Murdoch’s remarks, which he made last month as part of Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox, added to the evidence that Dominion has accumulated as it tries to prove its central allegation: The people running the country’s most popular news network knew Mr. Trump’s claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election were false but broadcast them anyway in a reckless pursuit of ratings and profit.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/business/media/fox-news-dominion-rupert-murdoch.html
Active Writing Exercise
Active Writing Exercise
These stories were published originally in 2021. But they still provide good examples of bad writing.
You can find the information about active writing here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DC8FfrshBWElg2tpYVjHNdJCY7qyNhNd?usp=sharing
This is not a quiz. You will not be graded. Do your best. Please put your work in the Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DC8FfrshBWElg2tpYVjHNdJCY7qyNhNd?usp=sharing
- This paragraph is from the Daily News. Use the active voice to make it better. You can break it up into more than one or two sentences.
The Empire State is one step closer to approving adult use marijuana after Gov. Cuomo released an amended version of his pot proposal Tuesday that would reduce criminal penalties for illegal sales, outlines how some of the tax revenue would be spent and allows for the delivery of cannabis products.
- This is from Vice. Use the active voice to make it better.
At least 2.3 million women have been forced from the workforce during the pandemic, many due to closed schools and a lack of child care.
So after one Ohio mother was arrested on charges of child endangerment for allegedly leaving her young kids in a motel room while she tried to go to her job at Little Caesars, sympathetic people rallied to support her.
- This is from me. Take out the clunky words and phrases and use the active voice to explain the problem.
Currently my boss won’t give me the extra money he promised and I really need the money and the job due to COVID and due to the fact that there are so few jobs available.
- From the New York Post. Use the active voice and rewrite the story.
Ryan Leaf is calling for the NFL to do more for retired players in the wake of Vincent Jackson’s death.
Jackson, 38, was found dead in a Florida hotel room by a housekeeper on Monday morning. There were no apparent signs of trauma, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Police are investigating and a cause of death has yet to be determined by the county medical examiner.
- This is from the New York Times. Use the active voice to rewrite it.
ALBANY, N.Y. — Admitting a degree of fault for the first time, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Monday that his administration’s lack of transparency about the scope of coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes in New York was a mistake.
Disinformation Vs. Misinformation
Misinformation is information that’s wrong, false or inaccurate. It happens when people make mistakes and write or say something that isn’t true. It could also be incorrect information that is shared to deceive, or maybe not.
Types of News Stories
Hard News- Breaking News
It is has happened, or is happening now.
LIVE
Jan. 25, 2023, 7:07 p.m. ET35 minutes ago
Russia-Ukraine WarWith a Pledge of Tanks for Ukraine, Biden Strengthens Allied Commitment
WASHINGTON — President Biden announced on Wednesday that he would send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine to help it defend against Russian invaders, a decision meant to unlock a wave of heavier aid by Western allies in preparation for an expected escalation of fighting in the spring.
Speaking at the White House after a morning of telephone calls to European allies, Mr. Biden said that the United States would send 31 Abrams tanks, the equivalent of a Ukrainian battalion, and that Germany would follow through by contributing its own Leopard 2 tanks and freeing other allies to send their own, the equivalent of two more battalions.
“These tanks are further evidence of our enduring, unflagging commitment to Ukraine and our confidence in the skill of Ukrainian forces,” Mr. Biden said, flanked by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III.
But he emphasized that the buildup was not meant to expand the war into Russia. “It is not an offensive threat to Russia,” he said. “There is no offensive threat to Russia. If Russian troops return to Russia, where they belong, this war would be over today.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who has pressed for the tanks to counter Russia’s advantage in arms and men, expressed gratitude for the U.S. decision. Writing on Twitter, he called it “an important step on the path to victory,” and said, “Today the free world is united as never before for a common goal — liberation of Ukraine,” with an icon of the country’s flag representing its name. “We’re moving forward.”
The Pentagon had long been reluctant to send the Abrams, in part because they are exceptionally complex machines that are challenging to operate and maintain. As it is, officials have said it could take a year or even longer for them to actually reach the battlefield in Ukraine.
But Mr. Austin came around to the move in order to spur Germany to send its own Leopard 2 tanks, which some military experts believe could be critical. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced it had agreed to do so on Wednesday, just hours before Mr. Biden spoke.
Just last week, Mr. Scholz had refused to send the Leopards, or to allow other European countries to send their own German-built Leopards. The Germans made clear they would only back down and send the Leopards if the United States sent its own Abrams tanks.
Mr. Biden spoke with Mr. Scholz on Wednesday morning to coordinate his announcement, and also called Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy.
“Germany has really stepped up,” Mr. Biden told reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. When a reporter asked if Germany forced him to change his mind on the Abrams, the president said: “Germany didn’t force me to change my mind. I wanted to make sure we are all together.”
Mr. Biden noted that Wednesday was the birthday of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. The president recalled that when they met in Washington in December, he vowed to the visiting Ukrainian leader that “we’re with you as long as it takes.”
“Ukrainians are fighting an age-old battle against aggression and domination,” Mr. Biden added. “It’s a battle Americans have fought proudly time and again. And it’s a battle that we’re going to make sure Ukrainians are well equipped to fight as well.”
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NEW YORK
Eighteen children injured, one critically, in Queens daycare fire sparked by lithium-ion battery
Nearly 20 children were injured in a fire at a Queens daycare that was sparked by a lithium-ion battery on Wednesday, officials said.
The blaze broke out in the basement of the two-story house on 72nd Drive near 147th St. in Kew Gardens Hills around 2:05 p.m., according to the FDNY.
“It was a lot of smoke coming out all of the windows,” said neighbor Adina Landon.
The first floor of the house is a daycare center, police said.
“Companies arrived and found heavy fire in the basement,” said FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito.
Firefighters removed 18 children from the house, where one was critically injured. The others suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
One of the injured children was rescued from the basement, the FDNY said.
A woman who lives on the block said a neighbor took in the children as they waited for their parents to arrive.
“There were firemen, paramedics all over the place and the kids were already out,” said the woman. “I’m sure some of them were scared.”
The fire was placed under control around 2:45 p.m., according to officials.
City officials were investigating whether the daycare facility was unlicensed, said a law enforcement source. Neighbors said they hadn’t known the location to be a daycare.
On Friday in the same borough, a man was killed and 10 others were hospitalized when a charging e-bike sparked a fire.
The blaze was the first fatal fire of the year attributed to the deadly batteries used in e-bikes and electric scooters. Last year, six people died in fires caused by the batteries.
Esposito told reporters Wednesday the fire department encourages lithium-ion battery users ensure their products meet industry safety standards.
Feature Stories
Billy Witz and
Display cases in the foyer of the Baruch College athletic department are cluttered with shimmering trophies. Framed photographs of championship teams line the cinder-block walls of the hallways. N.C.A.A. tournament banners hang from the gymnasium rafters.
Nowhere, though, is there any sign of the man who put the Baruch men’s volleyball team on the map — and on social media, network news and “Saturday Night Live.”
It is as if the collegiate athletic career of Representative George Santos — the self-described Baruch Bearcats volleyball star, whose teams vanquished Harvard and Yale and who gave so much to the game that he needed knee replacements when his playing days were over — did not exist.
Of all the fabrications conjured up by Mr. Santos, the newly elected Republican congressman of New York, the most fabulous may have been his claim to volleyball fame.
From the New York Daily News
A copy of the 1938 “Action Comics #1” brought in $3.25 million in a private sale, according to a Tuesday announcement from online auction and consignment company ComicConnect.com.
The record-setting price, narrowly bested the previous record for the comic, sold in the auction of another copy in 2014 for slightly over $3.2 million, the Associated Press reported.
New York City-based company’s chief operating officer Vincent Zurzolo said the comic book that introduced Superman to the world is considered “is the beginning of the superhero genre.”
Profile, A Look at a Person
By Ian AustenFeb. 5, 2021
OTTAWA — For Murray Sinclair, being a bridge between Indigenous people and the rest of Canada has sometimes been a struggle. After he graduated from law school in 1979, a step that felt like “joining the dark side,” he was frustrated by courts where he heard racist comments flow and saw the justice system work repeatedly against Indigenous people.
“This is killing me, literally, to do this,” Mr. Sinclair, who is Anishinaabe, recalled telling his wife, Katherine Morrisseau-Sinclair. “I’m not really helping anybody, but I’m also being seen as one of them.”
Ms. Morrisseau-Sinclair persuaded him to visit Angus Merrick, an elder from the Long Plain Indian band and an Aboriginal court worker.
The two men met in Mr. Merrick’s tepee, the elder smoking cigarettes and both of them drinking pots of tea until 6 in the evening, at which point Mr. Merrick became direct.
From The New York Times
The veteran Korean star Yuh-Jung Youn has had a thriving career for five decades — all because of a choice she made when she failed her college entrance exam.
By Carlos AguilarPublished April 2, 2021Updated April 7, 2021, 4:39 p.m. ET
For her 60th birthday, the veteran Korean star Yuh-Jung Youn made herself a promise. She would collaborate only with those she trusts. Even if their ventures fell short, as long as she personally appreciated the people making them, the result wouldn’t much concern her.
That late-life philosophy, born of decades of limited choices and professional trauma, brought her to “Minari,” the director Lee Isaac Chung’s semi-autobiographical story about a Korean family putting down roots in Arkansas. Youn’s bittersweet performance as the grandmother, Soonja, in the tenderhearted immigrant drama has earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress, the first for a Korean actress.
“Me, a 73-year-old Asian woman could have never even dreamed about being nominated for an Oscar,” Youn said via video call from her home in Seoul. “‘Minari’ brought me a lot of gifts.”
As she recounted this triumph and the many pitfalls that preceded it, her pensive expression often broke into an affable smile, cheerful laughter even. Dressed in a demure black top and long necklace, there was an effortless grace to her serene presence. She came off unhurried and welcoming but determined to make her ideas understood. Occasionally she asked a friend off-camera for help with certain English words to hit each point more precisely.
Videos, James Madison, Free Speech, Freedom of the Press
Free Speech
Opinion vs. News
What’s the difference between an opinion piece and a news story?
An opinion piece gives you information from the point of view of the writer, or presenter. It may include facts, and reporting, but it differs from a news story in that it lays out an individual’s ideas and often their biases. Opinion is, essentially, someone’s argument for a certain point of view about a specific topic.
When we read newspaper editorial pages, we see two types of opinion. We get the collective opinion of the editors and we also read, on the OpEd page — the page opposite the editorials — what individual columnists have to say in their byline pieces.
A news story reports the facts without the opinion of the reporter, writer, producer or presenter. It can contain attributed or quoted opinions of people interviewed. So a news story can contain opinion and tell a compelling story. But it should not include the opinion of the newsgatherer or the news organization.
A Pew Research Center poll, in 2018, found that younger people were better than older people at figuring out what’s factual and what’s opinion.
Pew said, “About a third of 18- to 49-year-olds (32 percent) correctly identified all five of the factual statements as factual, compared with two-in-ten among those ages 50 and older. A similar pattern emerges for the opinion statements. Among 18- to 49-year-olds, 44 percent correctly identified all five opinion statements as opinions, compared with 26 percent among those ages 50 and older.”
You can take the quiz and see how you do.
https://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/news-statements-quiz
You can take the quiz and see how you do.
Law and What You Need to Know
- Arrest
Agencies
New York City Police Department
- Report
- The victim of a crime files a complaint report with the police.
- Depending on where the crime occurred, you may report the crime to agencies such as the MTA police, State Police, or Port Authority Police. Otherwise, contact your local precinct as soon as possible.
- Locate the nearest precinct to you.
- The victim of a crime files a complaint report with the police.
- Investigation
- Once the NYPD has received the complaint report, an investigation may be conducted to gather more information.
- Investigations may include, but are not limited to:
- Arrest
- An arrest will be made if a suspect is identified and there is probable cause to believe the suspect committed the crime. When a suspect is arrested he/she may be searched, transported to the precinct, and in some cases fingerprinted, and photographed at the precinct.
- For certain offenses, the suspect might not be brought directly to court from the precinct. If eligible, a Desk Appearance Ticket (D.A.T.) may be issued, requiring the individual to appear in court at a future date to answer the charges against him/her. Eligibility will generally be dependent, in part, by having photographic identification.
- District Attorney’s Office
- After an officer makes an arrest, he/she will present information about the case to the District Attorney’s Office. The District Attorney’s Office will then determine whether to file charges against the suspect.
- If the District Attorney’s Office decides not to file charges, the suspect will be released.
- Filing Charges
- If the District Attorney’s Office decides to file charges against a suspect, the charges will be presented in front of a judge for an arraignment.
- Please note that although the District Attorney’s Office will handle your case, they prosecute on behalf of the State of New York in Criminal Court or Supreme Court, not on behalf of individuals.
- Defense Attorney
- All suspects being charged with a crime have the right to be represented by an attorney.
- The suspect can hire an attorney, or if he/she cannot afford an attorney, the court will provide one.
- Suspects’ Defense Attorneys sometimes contact victims about their case. [You] do not have to talk to defense attorneys or their investigators and [you] are encouraged to contact the prosecutor if [you] have any concerns about such requests.
- Arraignment After the Arrest
- After the arrest, the defendant is taken before a judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York for an arraignment.
- At this time, the defendant can plead guilty or not guilty to the charges against him/her. If a defendant pleads guilty, the court may impose a sentence immediately, or set a future court date for that purpose.
- Upon or after arraignment, the court may issue an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD), which postpones or “adjourns” the case to a later date. Obtaining an ACD does not mean the defendant didn’t commit the crime. There are usually conditions placed upon the ACD which the defendant must comply with prior to the case being dismissed, such as not engaging in any illegal activity or participating in a relevant program. An ACD does not require the defendant to admit his or her guilt. However, if the defendant does not meet all of the conditions put in place by the court, the case goes back before the judge to be adjudicated.
- An Order of Protection may be issued at this time at the request of the Assistant District Attorney.
- Bail
- Depending on a number of factors, a defendant may go to jail, may receive bail or may be released on his/her own recognizance while the case is pending.
- If a defendant cannot post bail, he/she will be detained in jail.
- Defendants who can post bail or are released on their own recognizance will be given a date to appear in court. Failure to appear at this court date will result in a bench warrant for the defendant’s arrest.
- Depending on a number of factors, a defendant may go to jail, may receive bail or may be released on his/her own recognizance while the case is pending.
- Grand Jury (Felony cases only)
- The Assistant District Attorney (A.D.A.) presents the evidence against the defendant to the grand jury. The defendant may also testify before the grand jury.
- The grand jury then decides if there is enough evidence to bring the case to trial.
- If the grand jury decides there is enough evidence, an indictment is issued.
- Arraignment on Indictment (Felony cases only)
- After the indictment, the defendant is arraigned in the New York City Criminal Court.
- At this time, with the assistance of a defense attorney, the defendant may enter a plea of guilty or not guilty to the charges against him/her.
- The judge has the right to accept or reject a guilty plea that is submitted by the defendant.
- If the guilty plea is accepted, there is no trial and the defendant will be sentenced. Sentencing can be right away or set for a later court date.
- If the defendant pleads not guilty, a date will be set for a trial.
- At this time, a temporary Order of Protection may be issued at the request of the Assistant District Attorney, which will be in place while the case is pending. And a final order will be issued upon a plea or conviction.