Ethical Journalism - An Unnamed Journalist

As the title suggests, I won’t be naming the subject of this article. Straight away this causes an obvious barrier between you and the journalist in question, so I will tell you two things in an attempt to familiarize you and her. The first has slipped; it’s a female, the second is her initial - P.

P is the subject of this post as a demonstration that there are some journalists out there, despite what (ironically) the media would have you believe, with a genuine and staunch moral code. She aims to report the truth with as little “dressing up” as possible, all the while defending other journalists’ right to report in accordance to their own code, no matter how different to hers it may be.

She works tirelessly to make sure her evidence is concrete, sourcing only first-hand witnesses, her own experience, and sites she knows to be reliable. Relentlessly double and triple checks her sources, going to unbelievable lengths to put herself on the front line so she can experience the story. P loves writing, loves learning, and loves imparting what she’s learned.

It’s worth noting that journalists, for the most part, feed from the same watering holes. Reuters, IDG, The Associated Press and one or two more are considered the only 100% reliable online sources. While they may not be correct all the time, they have no opinionated reporting, just cold stats and facts. These services are called “wires” and are quoted/rehashed the world over, including by the BBC, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Forbes, CNet and The Guardian. Beyond first-hand experience or an unbiased witness, these wires are the single most reliable source of news the world has.

As if to separate these esteemed site further, they are the only sites P cites without adding "allegedly" or "reportedly" or some other "this-is-only-true-as-far-as-we-know" addendum.

This post is less of a discussion starter or even point of interest, more just a much-needed tip-of-the-hat to P and those like her. Their self-imposed ethics and morals are what journalism relies on, without them we're left to the publishers code of conduct - a code that is seemingly non-existent.