In 1997, an organization then administered by PEJ, the Committee
of Concerned Journalists, began a national conversation among citizens
and news people to identify and clarify the principles that underlie
journalism. After four years of research, including 20 public forums
around the country, a reading of journalism history, a national survey
of journalists, and more, the group released a Statement of Shared
Purpose that identified nine principles. These became the basis for The
Elements of Journalism, the book by PEJ Director Tom Rosenstiel and CCJ
Chairman and PEJ Senior Counselor Bill Kovach. Here are those
principles, as outlined in the original Statement of Shared Purpose.
A Statement of Purpose
After extended examination by journalists themselves of the character
of journalism at the end of the twentieth century, we offer this common
understanding of what defines our work. The central purpose of
journalism is to provide citizens with accurate and reliable information
they need to function in a free society.
This encompasses myriad roles--helping define community, creating common
language and common knowledge, identifying a community's goals, heroes
and villains, and pushing people beyond complacency. This purpose also
involves other requirements, such as being entertaining, serving as
watchdog and offering voice to the voiceless.
Over time journalists have developed nine core principles to meet the
task. They comprise what might be described as the theory of journalism:
1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth
Democracy depends on citizens having reliable, accurate facts put in a
meaningful context. Journalism does not pursue truth in an absolute or
philosophical sense, but it can--and must--pursue it in a practical
sense. This "journalistic truth" is a process that begins with the
professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. Then
journalists try to convey a fair and reliable account of their meaning,
valid for now, subject to further investigation. Journalists should be
as transparent as possible about sources and methods so audiences can
make their own assessment of the information. Even in a world of
expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else
is built--context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and
debate. The truth, over time, emerges from this forum. As citizens
encounter an ever greater flow of data, they have more need--not
less--for identifiable sources dedicated to verifying that information
and putting it in context.
2. Its first loyalty is to citizens
While news organizations answer to many constituencies, including
advertisers and shareholders, the journalists in those organizations
must maintain allegiance to citizens and the larger public interest
above any other if they are to provide the news without fear or favor.
This commitment to citizens first is the basis of a news organization's
credibility, the implied covenant that tells the audience the coverage
is not slanted for friends or advertisers. Commitment to citizens also
means journalism should present a representative picture of all
constituent groups in society. Ignoring certain citizens has the effect
of disenfranchising them. The theory underlying the modern news industry
has been the belief that credibility builds a broad and loyal audience,
and that economic success follows in turn. In that regard, the business
people in a news organization also must nurture--not exploit--their
allegiance to the audience ahead of other considerations.
3. Its essence is a discipline of verification
Journalists rely on a professional discipline for verifying information.
When the concept of objectivity originally evolved, it did not imply
that journalists are free of bias. It called, rather, for a consistent
method of testing information--a transparent approach to
evidence--precisely so that personal and cultural biases would not
undermine the accuracy of their work. The method is objective, not the
journalist. Seeking out multiple witnesses, disclosing as much as
possible about sources, or asking various sides for comment, all signal
such standards. This discipline of verification is what separates
journalism from other modes of communication, such as propaganda,
fiction or entertainment. But the need for professional method is not
always fully recognized or refined. While journalism has developed
various techniques for determining facts, for instance, it has done less
to develop a system for testing the reliability of journalistic
interpretation.
4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
Independence is an underlying requirement of journalism, a cornerstone
of its reliability. Independence of spirit and mind, rather than
neutrality, is the principle journalists must keep in focus. While
editorialists and commentators are not neutral, the source of their
credibility is still their accuracy, intellectual fairness and ability
to inform--not their devotion to a certain group or outcome. In our
independence, however, we must avoid any tendency to stray into
arrogance, elitism, isolation or nihilism.
5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power
Journalism has an unusual capacity to serve as watchdog over those whose
power and position most affect citizens. The Founders recognized this
to be a rampart against despotism when they ensured an independent
press; courts have affirmed it; citizens rely on it. As journalists, we
have an obligation to protect this watchdog freedom by not demeaning it
in frivolous use or exploiting it for commercial gain.
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
The news media are the common carriers of public discussion, and this
responsibility forms a basis for our special privileges. This discussion
serves society best when it is informed by facts rather than prejudice
and supposition. It also should strive to fairly represent the varied
viewpoints and interests in society, and to place them in context rather
than highlight only the conflicting fringes of debate. Accuracy and
truthfulness require that as framers of the public discussion we not
neglect the points of common ground where problem solving occurs.
7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant
Journalism is storytelling with a purpose. It should do more than gather
an audience or catalogue the important. For its own survival, it must
balance what readers know they want with what they cannot anticipate but
need. In short, it must strive to make the significant interesting and
relevant. The effectiveness of a piece of journalism is measured both by
how much a work engages its audience and enlightens it. This means
journalists must continually ask what information has most value to
citizens and in what form. While journalism should reach beyond such
topics as government and public safety, a journalism overwhelmed by
trivia and false significance ultimately engenders a trivial society.
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional
Keeping news in proportion and not leaving important things out are
also cornerstones of truthfulness. Journalism is a form of cartography:
it creates a map for citizens to navigate society. Inflating events for
sensation, neglecting others, stereotyping or being disproportionately
negative all make a less reliable map. The map also should include news
of all our communities, not just those with attractive demographics.
This is best achieved by newsrooms with a diversity of backgrounds and
perspectives. The map is only an analogy; proportion and
comprehensiveness are subjective, yet their elusiveness does not lessen
their significance.
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience
Every journalist must have a personal sense of ethics and
responsibility--a moral compass. Each of us must be willing, if fairness
and accuracy require, to voice differences with our colleagues, whether
in the newsroom or the executive suite. News organizations do well to
nurture this independence by encouraging individuals to speak their
minds. This stimulates the intellectual diversity necessary to
understand and accurately cover an increasingly diverse society. It is
this diversity of minds and voices, not just numbers, that matters.
