With widespread access to everything from podcasts and blogs to video apps and social media as potential news sources, journalism in the digital era is increasingly complex. That’s why now, more than ever, journalistic integrity is critical.
Whether you’re an aspiring professional journalist or you want to learn how to become a more informed consumer of online news, enhancing your media literacy is an important tool in preventing the spread of misinformation.
This article explores what comprises journalistic integrity, details the many challenges of maintaining it, and provides strategies that support fairness, accuracy, and truth in reporting.
Understanding journalistic integrity
A primary goal of journalism is to provide the public with information to help them make informed decisions about their lives, communities, societies, and governments. As such, it’s vital that this information is accurate and unbiased, which is where media ethics comes in.
In a climate where half of the Generation Z population in the United States uses social media as their primary daily news source, ethics in journalism is essential to counteract the proliferation of false information.
Journalistic integrity helps ensure that professional journalists abide by a code of ethics and conduct fact-based reporting from a place of fairness, impartiality, and transparency.
Without journalistic integrity, news writers and broadcasters may be bought, swayed, or influenced by people, organizations, or partisan political interests that compromise their stories. A lack of integrity also leads to public distrust in the news media, which is at an all-time high.
In fact, according to a 2022 study by Gallup and the Knight Foundation, 55% of Americans believe there is significant political bias in news coverage, up from 45% in 2017.
Code of ethics
According to the Society of Professional Journalists, ethical journalism seeks to ensure the free exchange of fair, accurate, and comprehensive information.
The Society created four principles as part of a code of ethics for all professional journalists:
- Seek truth and report it. This involves fact-checking, prioritizing accuracy over speed, providing context, avoiding stereotypes and distortions, clearly identifying sources, and promoting the open exchange of ideas.
- Minimize harm. This includes showing compassion for sources and subjects of news, considering cultural differences in approach, protecting privacy of individuals, and balancing the public’s right to know with the consequences of publication, legal and otherwise.
- Act independently. This involves avoiding conflicts of interest and corruption, refusing gifts, fees, or special treatment that compromise impartiality, and denying favored treatment to advertisers, donors, or political interests who seek to influence coverage.
- Be accountable and transparent. This requires taking responsibility for one’s work, correcting mistakes, being open to journalistic criticism, and exposing unethical conduct in the media.
How technology impacts journalistic integrity
The internet has had a significant impact on journalism by disrupting the traditional means of disseminating news and creating a more decentralized media model.
For example, according to the 2022 Gallup and the Knight Foundation study, 58% of Americans receive their news online, 31% via television, 7% by radio, and 3% through printed newspapers or magazines.
The rise of citizen journalism
Citizen journalism is the reporting of news and other information by people who are not professional journalists or affiliated with a media organization. In the 24/7 news cycle, anyone with a smartphone and access to the internet can report on events in real time on social media, podcasts, and other digital platforms such as Wikipedia.
Eyewitness reporting from the public can provide instantaneous perspectives on everything from natural disasters and political protests to police brutality or other human rights abuses. This type of broadcasting can complement traditional forms of journalism. However, issues arise when videos are edited to remove context or if content includes misleading headlines or captions.
Citizen journalism can also help close the gap in reporting local stories that highlight community issues not typically covered by mainstream media outlets. When done ethically, collaborations between the public and professional journalists can help provide more thorough and inclusive news coverage.
The democratization of news distribution
The rise of citizen journalism has undoubtedly led to a democratization of media distribution by empowering individuals to share their firsthand experiences and elevate diverse and otherwise underrepresented voices.
Another positive result of this phenomenon is that large media corporations may be more compelled to report on stories that are in the public’s interest because their audiences have more options to turn to for information.
On the other hand, the increased prevalence of participatory journalism raises valid concerns regarding the lack of oversight when it comes to fact-checking, impartiality, and transparency.
As people turn to Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, Instagram, and other social media, they are more likely to consume news bytes rather than in-depth reporting. This may increase their chances of encountering misinformation or getting stuck in an “echo chamber” that reinforces their existing social and political biases.
A 2022 Pew Research survey found that only 34% of US adults think social media has been good for democracy and larger shares believe social media leads to manipulation and division in society.
Challenges to maintaining journalistic integrity
A major disadvantage of the rise of real-time participatory journalism and social media platforms as news sources is that traditional news media may feel compelled to sacrifice fairness and accuracy for speed. When news organizations prioritize clicks and engagement over journalistic integrity, it increases the likelihood of reporting errors or misleading information that degrades public trust.
The proliferation of fake news and other misinformation
Disinformation is false information that is deliberately created and shared to cause harm, while misinformation is misleading content created or shared without a conscious intent to cause harm. Fake news generally refers to false digital content that can either be a form of disinformation or misinformation, depending on the source.
The term “fake news” became popular during the 2016 US election, but the expression is now widespread. A more recent example is the misinformation shared on social media networks during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to research from Statista, close to 80% of consumers in the US reported having viewed fake news about the coronavirus outbreak.
However, a major issue with the proliferation of misinformation is the public’s inability to recognize when they are consuming or distributing it. Close to 40% of Statista respondents admitted to accidentally sharing fake news with others.
As more people become aware that inaccurate and misleading information can affect how people interpret reality, perceive issues such as climate change, or vote in elections, it’s also important that they proactively consider the journalistic integrity (or lack thereof) of the news sources they consume.
Public trust and perception of journalism
In recent years, public trust in professional journalists has been on a steady decline. Without this trust, people may be more likely to turn to alternative outlets for information that are not credible, accurate, or ethical.
The aforementioned survey by Gallup and the Knight Foundation found that only 26% of respondents have a favorable opinion of the American national news media–the lowest level recorded by the survey in five years. 53% of those surveyed have an unfavorable view.
Over 50% of respondents believe that most national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform, or persuade the public. The rise in an unfavorable opinion of the media is also apparent across all political affiliations, including Democrats who typically hold more positive views. The increased perception of political bias in news coverage increased the most with Independents, followed by Republicans, and then Democrats.
Interestingly, Americans have a much more positive opinion of local news reporting; 53% of respondents believe that most local news organizations care about how their work affects their community broadly and 47% believe most local news groups consider the best interests of their audiences.
Strategies for upholding journalistic integrity
According to the American Psychological Society (APA), 11% of journalists surveyed in a recent study by PEN America say they have unintentionally spread false information. Signs of attempted manipulation include the use of conspiracy theories, discrediting opponents, impersonating expertise, and polarizing or emotional content focused on group identity.
The Radio and Television Digital Network Association (RTDNA) emphasizes the importance of leading with what is true and accurate when making corrections on false claims or inaccurate quotes. Additional tips to uphold journalistic integrity include:
- Investigate all video, audio, photo, graphics, and quotes to verify the source, date, and ownership of the content before using it. Contact original sources (and, if possible, people identified in the content) directly to verify the legitimacy.
- Check metadata of video material and review footage to identify signs of manipulation such as unnatural lighting and fuzziness around the mouth. Perform reverse image searches to confirm authenticity of photos and video from outside sources.
- Undergo ongoing media literacy training to better understand how misinformation is created and spread.
- Report on the spread of misinformation to help inform the public about strategies to help them distinguish between credible and misleading or false information.
- Always have news content proofread by another staffer before publishing.
In addition to implementing the above strategies and following the code of ethics outlined by the Society of Professional Journalists, it’s also important for news organizations to proactively engage with historically marginalized communities. This can involve seeking editorial input from underrepresented groups or making stories available in different languages and on various media platforms to help ensure better access to information.
The audience’s role in upholding journalistic integrity
As a member of the viewing audience, one of the most effective ways that you can help support journalistic integrity is to develop your own media literacy skills.
Media literacy is the ability to critically analyze content and news sources to determine their accuracy and legitimacy. Some of the primary skills involved in media literacy include inquiry, search and research, critical thinking, and analysis and evaluation.
It can be helpful to think of yourself as a professional journalist when you consume news. This means fact-checking claims, analyzing sources, seeking out other points of view, and assessing the truth and credibility of the information presented. To help you get started, the News Literacy Project offers a fact-checking tool and other programs to help you decipher news from opinion and identify legitimate news sources.
It is also helpful to understand why humans are so susceptible to believing misinformation. Research shows that half-truths that are frequently liked or commented on—or that cause fear—are more likely to spread faster and stick with people. Confirmation bias refers to the fact that people are less likely to doubt the truth of information that aligns with their worldview. And the illusory truth effect describes how repeated exposure to disinformation makes people more likely to believe it.
Finally, it’s important to demand transparency, accuracy, and impartiality from all news organizations and other forms of media. This includes holding professional journalists accountable to their formal code of ethics while questioning the veracity and legitimacy of content created by citizen journalists whose ethics are less than transparent.
Unlock your creativity and develop your writing ability
The concentration in Creative Studies for the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree at Penn LPS Online can prepare you to use innovation, flexibility, and collaboration to nurture your creative writing practice. As you study and analyze creative works of art with attention to historical and cultural context, you’ll create and revise your own original writing in nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and screenwriting genres.
An alternative to a bachelor’s program, the Certificate in Creative Writing is designed as a workshop in which you can explore new ideas, discover innovative writing tools, and sharpen your powers of expression. Whether you have previous experience or you’re new to creative writing, this four-course program will help you develop your skills with valuable feedback from instructors and peers. The course CRWR 3700: Journalism Workshop, which can be taken as part of the Certificate in Creative Writing, teaches students journalistic genres, including interviews, profiles, reportage, features, storytelling, and criticism, as well as a range of journalistic writing tools.
If you haven’t already, apply to Penn LPS Online today. Learn more about the Creative Writing course block, or view our course guide to see what’s available in any upcoming term.
Additional sources
https://mediahelpingmedia.org/ethics/integrity-and-journalism/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-internet-journalism-media-priyanka-ahuja/
https://medium.com/@TheHeadlineUS/the-rise-of-citizen-journalism-empowering-voices-in-the-digital-age-92c8d732e93c#
https://www.internetmatters.org/issues/fake-news-and-misinformation-advice-hub/learn-about-fake-news-to-support-children/
https://nbcuacademy.com/misinformation-news-build-trust/
