Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists is provided as a public service at no charge by the Chicago Headline Club Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and Loyola University Chicago Center for Ethics and Social Justice. It is funded in part by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation.

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The 501st call to the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists reflected rampant concerns these days in journalism over finances and their impact on ethics.

The caller, a Long Island broadcaster, said station management was directing the news staff to give favorable “news’’ coverage to local advertisers. The journalist wanted to know what to do about it.

The broadcaster suspected that management was being unethical and was considering the hazards of whistle-blowing or quitting the job.

An AdviceLine ethicist took the call and pointed out that the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics clearly states that journalists should “deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.”

The ethicist encouraged the caller to contact the SPJ professional chapter in New York City for help in getting the station’s management to reconsider its unethical practice, and to direct management’s attention to the SPJ Code of Ethics.

With more than 500 calls since it started in 2001, AdviceLine is a joint project of the Chicago Headline Club and Loyola University Chicago Center for Ethics, where the AdviceLine ethicists who take the calls are trained. The project is supported by grants from the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation and the Howard and Ursula Dubin Foundation.

A newspaper reporter recently told AdviceLine that her managing editor also asked for favorable stories about advertisers at a time when revenue, circulation and advertising decline throughout the industry. Such practices can harm media credibility, which is won hard and lost easily.

Journalists seeking guidance to avoid such ethical pitfalls can call the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists at 866-DILEMMA, toll-free. Most calls are answered within 24 hours.
Media credibility has never been more important as the public watches cases involving ethics all across the country. Chicago alone had two recently.

Canadian media mogul Conrad Black, who once controlled a vast media empire, was found guilty in U.S. District Court of fraud and obstruction of justice.

WMAQ-TV reporter Amy Jacobson was fired for covering a story while clad in a swimsuit at a pool party held by the family of a missing person. Jacobson took her two children to the party.

Whether a person is top management or a street reporter, ethical lapses can result in front page news, as in the cases of Conrad Black and Amy Jacobson.

Avoid such embarrassment and career-damaging events. When in doubt, call the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists. Get answers on ethical practices in journalism. Get it right the first time.

Ethics Dilemma? Please Submit Online or Call Toll Free 866-DILEMMA