6-8 page Code of Ethics Paper

Running head: YOUDECIDENEWS.COM CODE OF ETHICS

YOUDECIDENEWS.COM CODE OF ETHICS

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Code of Ethics - YouDecideNews.com

Name

Brandman University: COMU 375

Professor Rockley

Date

Introduction

Culture is the foundation upon which every organization is built, therefore the most important responsibility of leaders is to ensure they create a strong, positive organizational culture. The way this is best done is by providing clear vision and expectations. As was noted by Dr. James Heskett in his book The Culture Cycle, in order to create a strong culture you must set and meet expectations which establish trust, engagement, and ownership among employees and customers; that makes possible the successful implementation of policies and practices which will ultimately create an innovative organization (2011). If leaders in an organization provide weak vision, the culture [the foundation], will be weak and the organization will falter. A strong vision, however, that “identifies and establishes priorities for conditions and behaviors that meet the organization’s needs and execute its strategy” will ensure a solid cultural foundation and offer the greatest potential for organizational success (See Figure 1).

All that is easy to say, but how do you get an entire organization on the same page, culturally? The first step is to give some deliberate thought about who your organization is, what products it provides, what market place it operates in and to whom it caters. Second step is to give some forethought to where you want your organization to go and how you want it to be perceived by the public in the future. Third step, keeping everything in mind, determine the organization’s core values and the general responsibilities of those in your organization that will best support you reaching those goals. The final step then, put it all to paper, in the form of a Code of Ethics, which will become the blueprint that everyone in your organization can follow. This will over time drive a strong, positive organizational culture which will be the foundation for organizational success.

Figure 1.

Figure 1: The Role of Leadership in the Culture Cycle (2011). Dr. James Heskett’s Culture Cycle provides a good overview of how leadership application in the forming of culture can positively impact the organization over time. A Code of Ethics fits squarely in “identifying and establishing priorities, conditions and behaviors.”

YouDecideNews.Com

Code of Ethics

Preamble

The primary mission of YouDecideNews.com is to provide the American people an unbiased analysis of every angle of every news story—then let the public decide. YouDecideNews takes its responsibility as an unwavering, unbiased purveyor of facts and truth seriously. YouDecideNews will never engage in “fake news.” Our vision is a future where all news outlets exercise honest journalism. YouDecideNews sees themselves as the catalyst to achieving this future vision. By becoming the number one news provider in the country we hope to set the example for a new business model that all outlets will strive to copy, ultimately, changing the state of news media in the United States.

Purpose

According to David Ingram in his article, The Importance of Creating a Code of Ethics for a Business, a code of ethics (CoE) creates a common framework upon which all management decisions can be made, creating a cohesive understanding of organizational boundaries and standards (2017). The YouDecideNews CoE serves six purposes:

1. The CoE outlines the core values on which YouDecideNews’ mission is based.

2. The CoE summarizes broad ethical principles reflecting the core values.

3. The CoE establishes specific ethical standards as a guide for all in the organization.

4. The CoE helps identify when professional obligations conflict with ethical considerations.

5. The CoE provides ethical standards to which the public can hold YouDecideNews.

6. The CoE articulates standards YouDecideNews can use to assess unethical conduct.

Core Values

As described by Patrick Lencioni in his Harvard Business Review article Make Your Values Mean Something, core values are the deeply ingrained principles that guide an organization’s actions and serve as cultural cornerstones that can never be compromised (2002). YouDecideNews’ embraces three core values that underpin all we do. Our three core values also broadly touch on the nine principles highlighted by National Public Radio in their NPR Ethics Handbook (2012); referred to as key lenses for our purposes. Our core values are:

1. Integrity Above All – According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary online the word integrity can be defined as a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values (n.d.). Specifically, YouDecideNews views integrity through the three key lenses of honesty, accountability and respect. Each will be addressed in more detail within the ethical responsibilities section of the code.

2. Investigative Objectivity – According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary online the word objectivity is defined as expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived, without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations (n.d.). Specifically, YouDecideNews views objectivity through the three key lenses of impartiality, independence and fairness. Each will be addressed in more detail within the ethical responsibilities section of the code.

3. Reporting Accuracy – According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary online the word accuracy is defined as conformity to truth or to a standard or model (n.d.). Specifically, YouDecideNews views accuracy through the three key lenses of completeness, transparency and excellence. Each will be addressed in more detail within the ethical responsibilities section of the code.

Ethical Responsibilities to the Public

Our responsibility to the American public is our greatest imperative. Without public support we cannot be successful as a news outlet. More importantly without the public’s buy-in we cannot hope to change the state of the news media at large. All of our employees have the following responsibilities as they apply to our customers, the American public:

Integrity. Every product we provide to the public should be completely and totally honest. Regardless of the angle taken we must make every effort to present only factual information. Along those lines we need to be prepared to be held accountable for all reported content and we need maintain professional excellence in our approach of each story.

Objectivity. We owe it to our customers to live up to our mission. To exercise one hundred percent impartiality and fairness in our investigations and reporting. We also must be concerned about perception. We must avoid conflicts of interest and remain independent at all times.

Accuracy. It is essential that we focus at all times on the overall completeness of our reporting. Unquestionable accuracy and transparency will underwrite both integrity and objectivity. Any time accuracy slips, we open the door for our integrity and objectivity to be questioned. Finally, we must go about our day-to-day with respect for the truth, the news and the American public.

Ethical Responsibilities to our Colleagues

We must strike a balance between collaboration and respectful competition with our professional colleagues. By focusing on fleshing out the facts rather than getting the most sensational scoop we will better foster trust among our colleagues and set the example to be emulated.

Integrity. Though we’re in an inherently competitive business we must be disciplined enough to be honest with colleagues and competitors alike. We must approach each interaction with excellence and we need to be prepared to be held accountable for our actions at all times.

Objectivity. We have an opportunity to not only build relationships with our colleagues but also to set the example for our colleagues through handling every interaction in an impartial and fair manner. Along those same lines we must avoid conflicts of interest and remain independent at all times.

Accuracy. Once again, completeness and transparency will underwrite integrity and objectivity. As with the public we must also be conscientious and respectful in our dealings with our colleagues. Any slip in accuracy opens the door to question our integrity and objectivity.

Ethical Responsibilities to our Profession

As media professionals we owe it to our profession to act ethically at all times. Over the last 10 to 20 years the integrity of our profession has suffered from a number of scandals and missteps by our peers.

Integrity. We must be the stalwarts of our profession. By being honest in our journalism and approaching all stories with excellence we can help to repair our professions tarnished reputation. Of course, we must also always be prepared to be held accountable for our actions and reporting.

Objectivity. As has been stated previously, we must take advantage of the opportunity to help repair our profession’s reputation. Most importantly we can never allow our independence to be questioned by accepting graft or by being placed in a situation which could be perceived as a conflict of interest. Beyond that, we must remain impartial and fair at all times and in everything we do as journalists.

Accuracy. As professional journalists, completeness, respect and transparency must be our mantra. By going above and beyond to maintain accuracy we can ensure confidence in our integrity and objectivity as well. Eventually with concerted efforts we can hopefully bring back confidence in our profession.

Conclusion

In summary, the Golden Rule applies. Treat our customers, treat our colleagues, treat our profession and most importantly treat the news with respect; just as you would want to be treated. Stated another way, as paraphrased from the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant in the book Media Ethics at Work, “If you can’t ask that everyone act on a maxim that you’ve created, you should not act on that maxim yourself” (Peck & Reel, 2013, p. 12).

At the end of the day, culture is the foundation upon which every organization is built. To have a positive, successful organization we need to build a positive successful culture. We can do this by setting and meeting expectations to establish trust, engagement, and ownership among our employees and customers. The main purpose of this code of ethics has been to identify and establish priorities for conditions and behaviors to help our organization to execute strategy. We did this through deliberate forethought about who we are, what we provide, what market place we operate in, to whom we cater and where we want to be in the future. We also outlined our core values and the general responsibilities of all those in our organization. Over time this will drive a strong, positive culture and ultimately lead to our organization’s success.

References

Accuracy. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster dictionary online. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accuracy

Heskett, J. (2012). The culture cycle: How to shape the unseen force that transforms performance. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press

Heskett, J. (2011). Manage the culture cycle [Online Image]. World Financial Review, Sep-Oct 2011. Retrieved from: http://knowledge.senndelaney.com/docs/articles/pdf/Manage%20 the%20Culture%20Cycle.pdf

Ingram, D. (2017). The importance of creating a code of ethics for a business. Hearst Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-creating-code-ethics-business-3094.html

Integrity. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster dictionary online. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity

Lencioni, P. (2002). Make your values mean something. Harvard Business Review, July 2002.

National Public Radio. (2012). NPR Ethics Handbook. Retrieved from http://ethics.npr.org/wp -content/uploads/2012/05/NPR-Ethics-Handbook

Objectivity. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster dictionary online. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/objectivity

Peck, L.A. & Reel, G.S. (2013). Media ethics at work: True stories from young professionals. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications Inc.