Ethics chairman calls code protection against society without journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists has begun the first revision of its Code of Ethics in 12 years, prompted by artificial intelligence and other changes in the news industry.
Dan Axelrod, chairman of the SPJ Ethics Committee and a former longtime Gannett business reporter, said the code’s reach extends beyond journalism itself. “I’m going to just say it,” Axelrod said. “This is the way to protect democracy. This is to protect society. There but for the grace of God goes a society without journalists.”
The reboot — only the sixth update in the code’s century-long history — is expected to take about a year of virtual and in-person meetings and feedback. The Code of Ethics runs fewer than a thousand words and is organized around four core journalistic principles. The document often appears pinned to newsroom bulletin boards, sometimes peeking out from behind the coffee pot.
SPJ decided the time for another revision is at hand as the media landscape seems to shift daily and new technologies emerge.
Reporting was by Jocelyn Noveck of The Associated Press.