Fortunately, there are codes, guidelines, community standards and laws to help journalists practise ethical journalism.
Journalists in South African are generally guided by the South African Press Code (2020), which is governed by the South African Press Council, and certain community standards. There are also some other codes of conduct in use in the country, because some news media are not members of the Press Council.
The preamble of the Press Code states
The media exist to serve society. Their freedom provides for independent scrutiny of the forces that shape society and is essential to realising the promise of democracy. It enables citizens to make informed judgments on the issues of the day, a role whose centrality is recognised in the South African Constitution.
Section 16 of the Bill of Rights sets out that:
Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes:
Freedom of the press and other media;
Freedom to receive and impart information or ideas;
Freedom of artistic creativity; and
Academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.
The right in subsection (1) does not extend to:
Propaganda for war;
Incitement of imminent violence; or
Advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.
The media strive to hold these rights in trust for the country’s citizens; and they are subject to the same rights and duties as the individual. Everyone has the duty to defend and further these rights, in recognition of the struggles that created them: the media, the public and government, who all make up the democratic state.
The media’s work is guided at all times by the public interest, understood to describe information of legitimate interest or importance to citizens.
As journalists we commit ourselves to the highest standards, to maintain credibility and keep the trust of the public. This means always striving for truth, avoiding unnecessary harm, reflecting a multiplicity of voices in our coverage of events, showing a special concern for children and other vulnerable groups, and exhibiting sensitivity to the cultural customs of their readers and the subjects of their reportage, and acting independently.
You can read the full Press Code online. The South African Press Council and the Press Ombud form an independent co-regulatory mechanism created by the print and online media in the country to provide impartial, quick and cost-effective adjudication to settle disputes between newspapers, magazines and online publications, on the one hand, and members of the public, on the other, over the editorial content of publications (South African Press, Council, 2021). This means they form a regulatory body where members of the public can complain about unfair or unethical news coverage.
The Press Ombud has the power to rule on unethical conduct in the printed and online news media and to order newspapers and websites to make corrections or apologise for incorrect reporting. That is why it is so important to make sure that you never make a serious mistake in your reporting.
Journalism associations and federations around the world have also well-established codes of ethics to guide the work of member journalists. Ethics codes can cover everything from plagiarism to privacy and from corrections to confidentiality. In South Africa, we are guided by the Press Code (already discussed above). The South African Press Council makes sure that its members adhere to the code. Some news media and journalists in South Africa have their own codes of conduct, such as the Independent Media Group and the South African Union of Journalists.
These codes are sometimes voluntary in nature, with no clear consequences for violators. Journalists who transgress the South African Press Code do face consequences, usually an apology and correction of the error. There are, of course, also legal consequences if you publish fake news or untruths.
The code of conduct of threestreamsmedia – a student news website at the NWU – is one very simple example.
In their codes of conduct, many news organisations limit what journalists can do both on and off the job. The main reason for these limitations is to protect the credibility of news organisations. Journalists and photographers may be told explicitly that they cannot manipulate or “stage” the news by asking people to do something for a story that they would not do ordinarily.
Journalists may not be allowed to conceal their identities to get a story, unless there is a clear and compelling public interest in the information, and it cannot be obtained any other way. The use of hidden cameras or surreptitious recording in gathering the news is usually forbidden unless a manager approves it for public-interest reasons. This is very rare in South Africa.
With the advent of digital and mobile phone photography, new standards have been added to prohibit altering photographs or video in a way that could mislead the audience. Several high-profile incidents contributed to these new policies, including a photograph on the cover of National Geographic magazine in the 1980s that digitally moved the famous Pyramids of Giza in Egypt closer together.
Many of the regulations in newsroom codes of conduct address issues of journalistic independence. To avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, journalists may be forbidden to own stock or have a personal interest in companies they cover. Journalists may not be allowed to take a public position on a political issue or openly support a candidate for office. The news organisation may prohibit journalists from having a business relationship with any news source, or from doing any outside work for pay unless approved by a manager.
With many journalists now very active on social media, there are also codes of conduct for social media use. Journalists sometimes forget that when they are using social media, they are still representing their news organisation; therefore, it is important to follow strict rules and not post anything that may embarrass the organisation. Social media codes of conduct are not restricted to journalism; almost all organisations have such codes to protect their reputation. One example is the social media policy of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
Community standards
News organisations often face conflicts between newsworthiness and community standards and resolving them requires the skilful practice of ethical decision-making (Potter, 2006). Suppose a member of parliament used strong language when discussing a member of the opposition party. Some newspapers might print the exact words the MP used. Others could use only a few letters followed by dashes to indicate what he said without spelling it out. And some newspapers would likely only report that the official had used offensive language. Newspaper editors choose different solutions, depending on what they feel the readers would be willing to tolerate. This would depend on the standards of the community. In a conservative rural community, the words would not be printed. In a very liberal city, the editor might decide to print the words. Unfortunately, sometimes, news media go ahead with a decision knowing they may offend some readers. They make the decision based on offending the fewest possible readers or viewers. Sometimes, they cannot please everyone. Editors face similar difficult choices when it comes to shocking photographs or video the audience may find distasteful but that may be the most powerful way to tell an important story.
Many newspapers and news media in South Africa are very careful about publishing shocking, graphic images of violence because they know readers will be offended. Sometimes, reports about violence describe what happened in words, but without pictures. Some people might still be offended, but fewer than if the news media had used graphic pictures of violence.
To minimise the harm such a choice might cause, many news managers now choose to explain why they made the decision they did, either in the text of the story or in a separate “editor’s note” alongside it. For example, a photograph of a mother holding the weary, thin body of her son who died of starvation would certainly be disturbing. Instead of waiting for angry phone calls and responding to each individual complaint, the editor’s note might say that this picture of suffering tells the story of famine much more clearly than words alone. By explaining their decisions to the public, journalists can live up to the guiding principle of accountability. This is still not necessarily the best solution in all cases. You always need to consider whether your audience really need to see a certain picture, or read certain words, and whether there are other ways to still tell the story in an effective way.
Many South African communities are very religious; this is something that you should also keep in mind in your reporting. The Constitution forbids discrimination based on religion, but you should anyway always be respectful of your audience’s religious beliefs.
Similarly, despite legislation protecting the rights of LGBTQI+ people in South Africa, there are communities who do not accept LGBTQI+ people. As a journalist, you should follow the law and not take the side of the audience, so your reporting about these communities must remain objective and non-judgemental, even if your audience thinks otherwise. Sometimes, journalists also play a role in educating their audience and changing opinions.
