What are the 9 Principles of Journalism

Journalism is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy. Time and again, it played a pivotal role in ensuring that the truth was kept in front of the audience. In this article, we have shared the 9 principles of journalism, which every wannabe journalist needs to keep in mind as it will ensure that they are true to their job and their profession.

What are the 9 Principles of Journalism?

What are the 9 Principles of Journalism: Journalism is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy. Time and again, it has played a pivotal role in ensuring that the truth is kept in front of the audience, and it has ensured that people talk facts and fake news is busted, however, on the flip side, there are still journalists who have forgotten their roots and mere meaning of journalism ethics. 

These journalists are involved in spreading fake news, creating propaganda-based news, hiding facts, and fabricating the news before it reaches the user. In this article on what are the 9 principles of journalism, we will be sharing the 9 principles of journalism, which every wannabe journalist needs to keep in mind as it will ensure that they are true to their job and their profession.

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What are the 9 principles of journalism?

The 9 principles of journalism are like the 9 rules that journalists must follow to ensure that their news reporting is true to the core. To understand this further, let's take an example here - Suppose you have bought a new vehicle, the new vehicle comes with a set of rules that you need to follow in the initial days to ensure that your vehicle lasts long without any errors, maintenance issues, breakdown, etc.

Same way these 9 journalism principles are like the owner's manual for every journalist who is planning to make a career in journalism. It will ensure that their job is free from influence from outside powers and that whatever news they are reporting is true to the core.

By following these 9 principles of journalism, audiences will be provided with accurate, timely, and reliable information essential for informed decision-making. This decision-making ability will collectively make the nation aware and contribute towards nation-building. Lets get started with the 9 principles of journalism.

Truth: The first and foremost principle of journalism is truth and maintaining accuracy. The mere objective of picking the newspaper in the morning or tuning in to the news channel at dinner is to know the truth and what if you are being served fact-less news which is false and baseless? The first job of Journalists is to report the truth by verifying the information from multiple sources and ensuring accuracy in their reporting.

Freedom: A paid journalist is just an actor who is reading a script given to him by his masters. Journalists must remain from outside influence, whether from corporates, advertisers, governments, or their special interests while reporting news. They must maintain their independence to report and hold power to account, safeguarding the public interest.

Fairness: While reporting, journalists must present all sides of the story, they must provide a balanced approach and share an impartial view to the audience by ensuring fairness in their news reporting.

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Human Aspect: In today’s time, many journalists have lost this aspect while reporting. They have fallen prey to the glitters and this is seen in their stories. Journalists must respect the dignity, privacy, and sensitivity of individuals involved in their news stories. They must hide the faces of minors, and female victims, must not name them openly, and hide their true identity until the matter is subjudice. They must exercise empathy and compassion and avoid sensationalism or exploitation of human suffering.

Accountability: It is human to make mistakes and even journalists are human beings like us and can make mistakes. In case of such errors, they must hold themselves accountable and acknowledge and correct the errors promptly.

Transparency: Many journalists work on simple payroll but earn big amounts from corporates, politicians, or PR agencies to report fabricated news, and build propaganda. Hence true journalists must disclose their affiliations, conflicts of interest, and sources of funding to maintain their transparency and avoid conflicts of interest. This transparency enhances credibility and allows audiences to assess the integrity of journalistic content.

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Full Control to Editors: The job of an editor in a news organization is of utmost importance. All news stories go through their lens and their decisions should be free from external interference, allowing them to prioritize news based on its significance and relevance to the public interest. They must safeguard journalistic integrity and ensure the prioritization of truth over commercial or political interests.

In Public Interest: An additional job of Journalists is to ensure that they take cognizant of public interest. Such as what are the government schemes that can benefit students, farmers, or different segments of the audience. They must create detailed reports on matters involving public interest and prioritize stories that have significant social, economic, or political implications, regardless of their popularity or commercial appeal.

Ethical Considerations: Journalists must adhere to the code of journalism ethics that governs their professional conduct. This code of ethics includes guidelines on accuracy, fairness, privacy, and conflicts of interest. They must uphold the ethical standards for preserving the credibility and integrity of journalism.

Why Are These Principles Important?

Upholding the mere thought of Democracy: The foremost importance of these principles is the preserve the essence of democracy as journalism plays a vital role in holding power to account and ensuring transparency in governance, safeguarding the democratic process.

Building Trust between the journalism and the audience: The 9 principles mentioned above of journalism are responsible for upholding principles such as truth, accuracy, and transparency which fosters trust between journalists and their audience, which is indeed essential for the credibility of media organizations.

Apart from the above the 9 principles of journalism are important as they inform Public Discourse by presenting diverse perspectives and accurate information, they protect vulnerable communities by prioritizing the dignity and privacy of individuals, preventing harm and exploitation, particularly of marginalized or vulnerable communities. It promoted accountability and fostered a culture of transparency in society.

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Bottomline

Adhering to ethical standards ensures that journalists uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity, fostering trust and credibility in the profession. These journalism principles encompass a set of professional standards and guidelines that journalists must adhere to while reporting. It will ensure that accuracy, fairness, integrity, independence, and accountability are a part of their news reporting which will indeed build the trust of the audience in journalism which seems to be lost these days. 

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