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About The Bend bulletin. (Bend, Or.) 1903-1931 | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1922)
9 flKNI) IIOLLKTIN, 1IHND, OIIKOON, TJIIJUWDAV, MARCH 0, 1022. . jj gJMIMMJMMMWMMM . - . - . . . '.l - T 7 - - - " " - - W 5A13 I 1 77ie Oregon Code of Ethics for Journalism ilS888888BS8BS888S88SS888B888888ra888E sappppngnopppppppae luaaaaaaaaaaaauL 3BB8BB8B8BB8BBB88B888BB8S8B88S8B8BE Written by Colin Dyment, Dean of College of Literature, Science and the Arts, University of Oregon, at the Request of the State Editorial Association. i' it i: a m n ii i: ".Vol only all arts mil sciences lint nil net loin illicrdd liy tholco ill in at some good." Aristotle, Nl( Iioiiiim Iiciiii Ivthlrs, 1:1. Wo believe In Iho loathing f III" great etlililsls (IiiiI ii Ki'iii'ral stale of happiness ami Mcll-hclng Ii attainable throughout llm world; anil Hull this state In tho liti-f end-lu-tlew of society. Vi rocognlo an Instinct In every good man llinl lili utterances anil Ills deeds should make n reasonable anil continuous contribution toward IhU ultimate Male, In I In possibility of which wo reiterate our belief, liow--r remote i( limy now seem. Wo believe I lint Hint rnllcrthcly should alio follow tint irlnclpl-i of iraitl t lint guide Iho ethical Individual. 1'nr whatever purpose inrn are nsorhilrd, wo believe they hlioulil endeavor lo make. Iho reasonable anil ronlluiinus contribution (lint distinguishes I ho ethical man. Anil all tin agemiON anil Instrumentalities emplojed liy mi'ii, singly or inllerlholy, should Ik? based iimiii tint host ethical practice of the time, so thai tin' cniMn-vlow of society may tlirrrliy lin hastened. Of all llirxo agencies the prlnli-d word Is most Mlili'ly itlfTused anil limit Miwcrful. Tim printed word U tin' single Instrument of llm profession mi represent, ami llm extent to which It It shaping tlm thoughts anil tlm conduct of peoples In measureless. Wo therefore pronounce tlm ethical rcsHins. lilllly of Journalism Iho urrntnl of tlm professional rcspoiisl-lillltli-M, anil Me desire lo accept our responsibility, now anil hereafter, lo tln ill limit extent that It right anil reasonable In our respective circumstances. Accordingly we adopt for our guidance tlm follow Inu rode which nhnll lie known an Iho Oicgiiu Code of Ichiro for Journalism. I. HINCKIUTV; TRl'TII Tln foundation of ethical Journalism In sincerity. Tlm slmoro Journalist will bo Imncot nllkn In liU imrpoM-t nnil In liU urltliiKH. To tlm limt of lilt rapacity lo ascertain truth, lio "III nlun)N lie truthful. It N III attltuiln tonril truth that ilUtltiKulnlii'4 tlm rllilral from the unethical urller. It In naturally not kiIMo that all HrltliiK ran he without error; hut It ran nla) he lthotit ilellheratu error. There N no place In Journalism fur the dissembler, the distorter, the prevaricator, the suppressor, or the dishonest thinker. Tlm llmt nrrtlon of IhU rode therefore provldeN that wo hhnll he niiilliiuoiisly sincere In professional practice; and nlucerlty as JournallstH means, for example, that We will put accuracy above all other considerations In llm written word, whether editorial, advertisement, article or iichn Mory. Wo will Interpret nrcuraey not merely nt tho ahsenro of actual liilsslateiiient, hut as the presence of whnt ever Is necessary to prevent the reader from making n false deduction. In mi ethical attitude toward truth we will ho open nt nil time to conviction, for tlm sincere Journalist, while frnrli'NN nnil firm, will never ho ktuhlxirn; there fore wo will never decline to hear anil consider new evidence. If new evidence forces n chaiiKo of opinion, we will ho as free In the acUnowlrdKtncnt of the new opinion nN In tho utterance of the old. Wo will promote a similar attitude In others toward truth, not asking or pormlttlnK employes to wrlto thliiKH which iin sincere Journalists we would not our m'Ivcm write, II. ('Aitic; co.MPirrHxrVi tiiouoikjiixhss Inaccuracy in Journalism In commonly duo more to luck of menial equipment than to willfulness of attitude. Tho Ill-equipped man cannot ho more competent iih ii Journalist than he can iin a doctor or eiiKlnccr. (liven nil ethical atti tude, (he contribution that each Journalist makes to his com munity anil lo Miclely Is neatly In ratio to his competency. Wo rcuai'il Journalism iin ii precise and a learned profession, ami It In therefore the second purl of this code Hint: Ily Htiuly anil Inquiry nnd observation wo will con Htmilly aim to Improve ourselves, no that our writings may he more authentic nnd of renter perspective nnd more conducive to tho social Kood. Wo lll consider It an essential In those we employ Hint they not merely ho of ethical attitude, hut ren Nonahly eiiilipi-d to carry out their Ideals. Wii will make rare our deletion In tho preparation of statements of fact nnil In tlm utterance of opinion. Wo will advocate In our respective communities llm Kiimo thoroughness, sound preparation nnd pride of craft that wo ourselves desire In ourselves, our cm ploy cm nnil our ansoclalfft. Wo are accordingly llm net he enemies of superficial ity and pretense. III. JUKTICH; MHItCVi KINDMNKHS Liberty of the press In, hy constitution, statute nnil cus tom, greater hi the I'nlted Ktati-s than any u here else In tho world. This liberty exist for our press so that tho liberty of llm vtholo people may thereby he guarded. It so hupens that at limes tho liberty of Iho press Is exercised as license lo Infringe upon the rlghtM of Kroups nnd of Individuals: because custom nnd law havo brought about certain Im munities, It happens thai In haste or zeal or malice or In difference, iiersous are unjustly dealt hy. Vet Iho freedom of Iho press should nt nil limed he exercised ns Iho makers of the constitution nnd of the statutes, and the teoplo them selves thiotiKh Ihelr tolerance, have Intended It. Tho repu tations of men nnd women are sacred in nature nnd not to In1 lorn down lightly. Wo therefore pronounce It appropriate to Include In thin code thai: We will not make "prhllcged utterance" clonk of unjust attack, or spiteful venting, or carelessness In Investigation In Iho cases of parties or persons. Wo will aim lo protect, within renson, the rights of Individuals mentioned In public documents, regardless of tho effect on "good stories" or upon editorial policy. Wo will deal hy nil persons alike so far as Is hu manly possible, nut varying from the procedure of any pnrt of this rode because of tho wealth, Inlluenro or M'i-sonaI situation of the persons concerned; except ns hereinafter provided. It shall ho one of our canons that merry nnd kindli ness nro legitimate considerations In any phnso of Journalism, nnil that If tho public or social Interest seems to ho best coiiremcl hy suppression, wo mny suppress; hut the motive In such Instances must al wii)n Iio the public or social Interests nnd not tho per sonal or commercial Interest. Wo will try so to conduct our publication, or to direct our writing, Hint Justice, kindliness nnd mercy will characterize our work. IV. SIODKHATIO.V; COXSKUVATISM; l'llOI'OIlTIO.V Klnro tho public takes from the Journalist so grent n pro portion of tho evidence upon which it forms Its opinions, obviously Hint evidence should bo of high typo. Tho writer who makes his Appeal to the passions rather than to the Intellect In too often Invalid ns n purveyor of evidence he causo his farts nro out of perspective. Ily Improper emphasis, hy skillful arrangement, or by devices of typography or rhetoric, ho causes tho formation In his reader's mind of un sound opinion. This practice is quite as Improper nnd fre quently Is more harmful than actual prevarication. Through this code wo desire to lake n position against so-called sensa tional practice by acceptance of the following canons; Wo will endeavor lo avoid the Injustice that springs from hasty conclusion In editorial or reportorlal or Interpretative practice. Wo will not overplay news or editorial for the sake of effect when such procedure may lead to false de ductions In readers' minds. We will regard accuracy nml completeness as more vital than our being the llrsl to print. Wo will try to observe duo proiKirtion In the display of news lo Hie end that Inconsequential matter may not seem to take precedence In social Importance over news of public slgnlllcauce. Wo will in all respects In our writing and our pub lishing endeavor lo observe moderation and steadiness. ltccngnlzlng that tho kaleidoscopic changes In news lend lo keep Iho public processes of mind at it super ficial level, we will try lo maintain a news and an editorial policy that will he less ephemeral In Its In fluence upon social thought. V. I'AKTIHAXHIIII'j I'ltOIMGAXDA We believe that the public Uait confidence In the printed word of Journalism In proportion as It Is able to believe In the competency of Journalists and have trust In their mo tives. Lack of trust In our motives mny arise from the suspicion that we shape our writing to suit non-social In terests, or that we open our columns lo propaganda, or both. Accordingly we adopt the following professional canons: We will resist outside control in every pha.se of our practice, believing Hint the best Interests of society require entire Intellectual freedom In Journalism. We will rise above party nnd other partisanship In writing and publishing, supporting parties and Issues only so fnr n we sincerely believe them to bo In tho public Interest. We will not permit, unless in exceptional cases, the publishing of news and editorial matter not prepared by ourselves or our stnlTs, believing that original mat ter Is the best answer to the peril of propaganda. vr. I'UUMC SKIIVICE AXI) SOCIAL POLICY Wc dispute Ihe malm sometimes heard Hint a news paper should follow Its constituency in public morals anil policy rather than try to lead it. Wo do not expect to lie so far ahead of our time that our policies will be imprac ticable; but wc do desire to be abreast of the best thought of the time, and if possible to be its guide. It is not true that n newspaper should be only as advanced In Its ethical atmosphere as It conceives Ihe average of Its readers lo be. No man who is not in ethical advance of Hie average of his community should be In the profession of journalism. We declare therefore as follows: We will keep our writings and our publications free from unrellnemcnt, except so far ns we may sincerely believe publication of sordid details to be for the social good. Wc will consider all that wc wrlto or publish for public consumption in the light of Its effect on social policy, refraining from writing or from publishing if we believe our material to be socially detrimental. We will regard our privilege of writing for publica tion or publishing for public consumption ns an en terprise that Is social ns well as commercial in charac ter, nnd therefore will at all times have an eye against doing anything counter to social Interest. We believe It nn essential pnrt of this policy that we should not be respecters of persons. VII. ADVERTISING AND CIRCULATION Wc repudiate the principle of "letting the buyer beware." We cannot agree to guarantee advertising, but wo assumo a dellnlte attitude toward the advertising that wo write, solicit or print. Wo believe that Ihe same canons of truth nnd Justice should apply In advertising nnd circulation as wo arc adopting for news and editorial matter. Wo there fore agree to the following business principles: Wo will cooperate with those special agencies whoso business it is lo rnlso the ethical standard of adver tising. We will discourage nml bar from our columns ad vertising which In our belief is intended to deceive tho reader In his estimate of what Is advertised. (This clause is intended to cover the many phases of fraud, mid unfair competition, and the advertising of articles that seem likely to be harmful to the purchaser's morals or health.) We will not advertise our own newspaper or Its cir culation boastfully, or otherwise In terms not lu har mony with Hie clauses of this code of ethics. (This Is Intended to rover misleading statements lo Hie public or to advertisers as to whole number of copies printed, number of paid-up subscribers, number of street sales nnd percentage of local circulation. We will not make our printing facilities available for the production of advertising which we believe to bo socially harmful or fraudulent in its Intent. To Iho foregoing code we subscribe heartily ns a part of our duty to society mid of our belief that the salvation of the world can come only through Hie acceptance and practice by the people of the world of 11 sound and prac tical ethical philosophy. THE BEND BULLETIN IS A MEMBER OF THE STATE EDITORIAL ASSOCIATION AND SUBSCRIBES TO THIS CODE OF ETHICS. PA OR fl 3 VfT1 Vl'.l. A