Last Updated: February 17, 1999
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Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch
Guidelines For Professional Conduct
(Issued on June 28, 1994)
Integrity and credibility are essential for a newspaper to retain public
trust.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch expects all news employees to hold themselves
to the highest professional standards. The following guidelines are
designed to help employees avoid the personal embarrassment and serious
injury to the Times-Dispatch's reputation which could arise through a lapse
of judgment. These guidelines cannot cover every situation that might
arise. Nor can they substitute for common sense and good manners.
When in doubt, err on the side of careful adherence and consult with the
managing editor.
These standards apply to all news employees, including the managing
editor and the executive editor, and are intended to augment, not supersede,
existing newsroom and corporate policies. Assigning editors should
direct stringers and free-lancers to adhere to these standards.
CONDUCT
(1) When conducting interviews, news employees should identify themselves
as representatives of the newspaper. In the rare circumstance when
identification might impede news gathering, news employees should seek
approval from the managing editor to proceed without identification.
(2) Pledges of anonymity to news sources should be made sparingly with
the utmost caution and ideally after consultation between reporter and
editor. Sources should be identified in all cases if at all possible;
In cases in which the use of unidentified/anonymous sources is essential,
the names of those sources must be disclosed to at least one senior editor.
A pledge of anonymity by a reporter or editor will be honored by The Times-Dispatch.
If a dispute arises as to the pledge's validity, the decision will involve
whether a story based on the information from the anonymous source will
be published.
Unless referring to an anonymous source, the source for quoted material
must be attributed in the news columns, including whether the quoted material
is from another publication or printed source. Material that is paraphrased
at length also should be attributed to its source.
(3) News employees should make no promises to sources or contacts about
placement, timing, use, extent of use or non-use of information or photographs.
Entire articles should not be sent to sources and contacts for review,
but a reporter may check quotes or passages with a source to ensure accuracy
or update information. Graphics also may be reviewed with sources
for accuracy.
(4) Reporters and editors should clarify with sources and contacts what
is meant by such phrases as "off the record" or "just between you and me"
if they are used in the course of collecting information.
Reporters and news sources should be clear on some common phrases that
are often confused during interviews. The phrase '"off the record"
literally means that the information should not be used in any way.
Usually, when laymen say information is "off the record," what they
mean is "not for attribution," that their name should not be attached to
the information. These phrases should be clarified as soon as they
come up.
(5) News employees must not participate in or knowingly permit the publication
of false information.
(6) News photographs should accurately represent the situations they
portray. Nothing re-created, staged or posed should be represented
as a spontaneous or candid situation.
Documentary photographs should not be manipulated, changed or altered
to any degree, by any method or medium, including electronic manipulation.
This excludes traditionally accepted cropping, dust and scratch cleanup,
color balancing and contrast control.
However, photographers are often called upon to make environmental portraits
or photographic illustrations. Both should be readily apparent to
the reader as such and should be clearly labeled.
(7) Quotations should be precise. Problems arising from errors
in grammar and syntax can be addressed by paraphrasing to convey precise
meaning.
CONFLICTS
(8) All news employees should avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance
of conflicts. Newsroom employees should also be on guard against
activities or exhibitions that could compromise the newspaper's independent
and neutral approach to covering the community. It is up to news
employees to recognize the potential for conflicts and to approach supervisors
when their outside activities or those of their family members may have
an impact or the appearance of an impact on news coverage or public perception
of news coverage.
(9) News employees should not be active in politics and generally should
guard against public activities or exhibitions in areas of controversy.
(10) News employees involved in community activities or groups should
be alert to the potential for conflicts of interest, especially if they
advance into leadership positions in those organizations. Employees
should not cover, make news decisions about or in any way seek to influence
coverage of groups, events or individuals with whom they or their immediate
family members are personally involved. This is not intended to restrict
personal news columns or first-person accounts.
All organizations and individuals seeking news coverage should be sent
through normal newspaper channels.
(11) News employees should be alert to potential conflicts arising from
their financial dealings. Reporters should not hold stock or otherwise
invest in areas they routinely cover. Editors also should disqualify
themselves from handling stories on matters about which they or a family
member has or may be viewed as having a personal or pecuniary interest.
News employees should not have business relationships with news sources.
Employees should inform their editors of any potential conflicts of
interest regarding their investments or business activities, and those
of their immediate family members. Employees also should be aware
of potential conflicts inherent in active trading.
News employees should not take advantage in their personal investing
of any information before it is widely disseminated.
(12) News employees should not use the newspaper or information gained
through their employment to push their personal agendas, solve their personal
problems or benefit their friends, relatives or associates. For example,
a news employee should not write a letter of complaint to a merchant on
Times-Dispatch stationery.
(13) The Times-Dispatch will pay all travel expenses incurred by news
employees related to news gathering. In rare cases in which private
transportation is used and reimbursement is not possible or practical,
an exception to this policy is possible if approved in advance.
(14) News employees may not accept gifts or services of more than nominal
value from news sources and contacts, public relations and advertising
firms, or event sponsors. Employees may exercise discretion on how
to inform a donor to avoid public embarrassment to either party or insult
to an unsuspecting donor, but it should be done without delay. Gifts
that cannot be returned to the donor will be distributed to charitable
or non-profit groups, organizations or institutions.
(15) News employees may accept occasional business meals from sources
and contacts, and also may buy occasional meals for sources and contacts
in accordance with newspaper policies. Employees should reciprocate
in "picking up the tab" in periodic meal meetings with sources and contacts,
and such expenses may be added to expense accounts. The company will
pay the cost of a political or charitable fund-raising dinner or event
being covered, but will not pay any additional amount as a donation to
the sponsoring organization, unless an exception is approved by the managing
editor or executive editor. News employees may accept a sponsoring
organization's meal while covering an event.
(16) News employees may accept tokens of appreciation for serving, with
approval, as speakers at civic or business group meetings or for serving
on panel discussions, if the sponsors present gifts to all speakers.
Employees should not ask for payment other than personal expenses (such
as travel or out-of-town lodging) for making speeches or participating
in panel discussions. Speaking fees or honoraria may be accepted if offered,
but only after discussion with the news employee's department head and
the managing editor. Payment from groups or organizations in subject
areas the news employee covers should be avoided.
(17) The Times-Dispatch will pay for tickets to cultural arts, sports
and other spectator events being reviewed or covered whenever possible
or practical. If a sponsoring organization routinely provides press passes,
tickets or free admission for purposes of review or news coverage, news
employees assigned to cover the event may accept such passes or tickets.
If a question arises at the gate over whether to pay, the employee should
pay for the ticket and add the cost to an expense account. News employees
and regularly retained free lancers (“special correspondents") may not
accept free tickets or press credentials for recreational purposes.
(18) The newspaper will permit acceptance of printed or recorded materials
(such as books, periodicals and newsletters, audio and video recordings
and computer software) for review and for professional-reference use.
Such materials that are no longer needed should be distributed to libraries,
or to Charitable/nonprofit groups, organizations or institutions.
Review materials no longer needed may not be sold for personal profit.
OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT
(19) News employees should not accept outside employment that might
pose a conflict, or the appearance of a conflict, with their duties at
The Times-Dispatch.
News employees engaged in stringing or free-lance work for other approved
publications should identify themselves during interviews as working for
those publications, or on free-lance projects - not as employees of The
Times-Dispatch.
PROPRIETARY INFORMATION
(20) Employees should not disseminate to anyone confidential information
obtained in connection with their employment at the Times-Dispatch until
such information has been made available to the public. Access to
computer systems used by The Times-Dispatch to produce, process and/or
store news, images, archives and other newspaper information ALSO should
be closely guarded. So should details about internal news gathering
practices and upcoming stories. Any requests for information about
computer access should be reported to a supervisor.
HOW TO PROCEED
(21) If you believe you may have inadvertently violated any of these
guidelines or a family member's activities may have put you in a difficult
position or created a conflict or the appearance of a conflict for you,
notify your supervisor as quickly as possible.