Crowdsourcing Best Practices

A new ethical framework for political coverage

What happens when social media and political coverage collide? How do you handle the challenges of “access journalism” like requests for quote approval? How can journalists keep politicians honest? Could a different approach to reporting improve the flow of information to voters?

Join these ongoing online conversations about ethics in political coverage and help contribute to a new best practices guide!

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The Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop 2012

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Blistering sound bites, attack ads and pack journalism are all parts of “dirty politics,” which was the focus of the 2012 Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop. Watch speeches and stories of very real ethical issues challenging political journalism today, including quote approval, transparency, and responding to campaign lies.

Ethics in political coverage

Hot 2012 topics

The four ongoing conversations on ethics in political coverage happening here came out of major themes that emerged from the 2012 Poynter / Kent State workshop on media ethics. There were many more!

Check out this list of ten hot ethics issues in election 2012.

What other ethical challenges have you experience or observed? Don’t struggle with them alone!

Join any conversation. Your thoughts here will help inform a new best practices guide.

Conversations for impact

Getting somewhere new

How might political reporting better serve citizens, build civic connections, clarify context and deepen engagement between journalists, the audience and our nation’s leadership?

Join these ongoing conversations on ethics in political coverage! Add your experience to inform a new best practices guide!

What ethical challenges arise when social media and political reporting collide?

How do you manage the ethical minefields of “access journalism”?

What are the best ways to call out misconstrued facts in politics?

How can the media consistently deliver the political coverage citizens deserve?

Key Comments: Ethics in political coverage

Josh Edge on social media: As for journalist interaction with commenters, it’s still at a minimum. We have a fairly engaged audience who, if they have an issue with our reporting, will email us directly. So the interaction happens on a more private level. (more)

Gregory Korte on “access journalism”: Every time I push back hard — not just about quote approval, but also backgrounders, e-mailed statements, etc. — I’m told, “Well, I deal with reporters all the time, and no one else has a problem with it.” (more)

Rob Farley on fact-checking: …to the extent that media must remain relevant to be financially solvent, I think it’s imperative to aggressively fact-check. Fact-checking is on the rise because readers crave the truth. (more)

Elizabeth Nalewajk on improving the system: Isn’t it the politicians’ job to learn what the people want? If we reverse the pipeline, aren’t we essentially doing the job now of the people we have elected to know about their constituents and their needs? (more)