Adhering to my values and keeping to ethical guidelines has always been a priority in my journalistic work. You can read my Code of Conduct and Statement of Ethics here.
I submit my conduct and my published work to the standards of the MEAA (1996) AJA Code of Ethics (1944), ACMA Code of Practice (2010) and any authoritative legal and ethical code of conduct affiliated with the means of publication of each particular story pertaining to the country in which the organisation I am affiliated with is aligned.
I maintain that any source used as reference in published work is published with full knowledge of my role as a journalist and my affiliation with any particular organisation at the time of interview.
Sources will be named only if permission to do so is granted by the source. An undisclosed source will only be revealed to the appropriate authorities if the source or the general public are considered, upon my merit, at great personal risk without publication of their information.
Sources who grant me information with the understanding of full disclosure will not be revealed if it is at their or others great personal risk or if their identity is not fundamental to the power of the information granted.
Sources will be obtained with honesty and integrity.
Each source will be treated with the utmost respect that each human deserves. They will be given the opportunity to state their opinion and always have opportunity for response after they have been interviewed in accordance with the MEAA (1996) focus on fairness and accuracy.
The only time I may publish information granted by a source who is unaware of my journalistic role and affiliation is if it comes at the cost of not obtaining honesty from the source itself. In this information published is done so only because it is of great merit to society and is fundamental in fulfilling the role of the fourth estate.
Every effort will be made to collate and publish information in a fair and unbiased banner (MEAA 1996). In this professional experiences will be relied upon more greatly than the journalists own private beliefs and experiences. However, it is unrealistic to suggest these personal affiliations will not impact the final result of any work published. Therefore the journalist will endeavour to do everything as professionally as possible without causing published work to be altered due to personal preference.
In conjunction with the code of ethics cited in the MEAA (1996), AJA(1944) and those associated with the medium published and the country the organisation the journalist working for is affiliated with, the journalist seeks to not only treat sources with integrity and respect but also colleagues and any other industry related contacts.
While the journalist endeavours to treat all sources and colleagues with respect, she reserves the right as a journalist, to question her sources as much, and in a manner as she deems necessary in order to fulfil the publics need (not want) of knowledge without forcing, manipulating or pressuring the source in such a way that is unethical.
The journalist understands that the manner in which she adheres to the strict professional and personal code of ethics and conduct she must, and has chosen to; observe will be assessed by colleagues and the rest of society meticulously as is the current nature of the relationship between the media and society. She also adheres to the fact that the moral compass in which she measures, but not biases, her sources information with will be applied to her due to her privileged role as gatekeeper of information in society.
Photo by Shannyn Higgins Photography