Journalists understand that information has value as a commodity and as a means to educate citizens, influence public opinion, and foster an informed society. The value of information can be driven by powerful interests that marginalize certain groups or perspectives in society. In journalism, ethical, legal, and socioeconomic interests affect the selection, production, and dissemination of information.
Journalists are producers and critical consumers of information. To make deliberate and informed decisions on reporting, journalists should know their rights and responsibilities concerning the value of information in the various contexts of journalism. In selecting information, journalists must gather information from trustworthy sources in a wide variety of forms. Both novice and expert journalists advocate for the free flow of knowledge in the public domain, but expert journalists are keenly aware of when to use closed sources such as subscriptions to access premium content. Reporting verified information is invaluable to building trust in a story and the journalists telling that story. Journalists exercise healthy skepticism to back up every claim in a news story and verify, attribute, and cite all sources transparently and adequately. They seek to avoid disclosing sensitive or confidential information such as trade secrets, comments shared “off-the-record,” or other information that might put a human source at risk. In reporting a story, journalists should recognize when individuals and organizations with power attempt to use information to influence change and for other forms of civic, economic, social, or personal gains. When reporting about marginalized groups or views in society, journalists strive to recognize their own and their source's potential bias and to be accurate and fair in conveying a diversity of perspectives to their audiences. (See the recommendations from the 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Audit of The Philadelphia Inquirer for examples of approaches to inclusive sourcing, editing, hiring, and engagement.) Journalists should be vigilant in identifying the purpose of the sources they consult, and be honest and transparent in the disclosure of any conflicts of interest. Journalists often write the same story for multiple formats (e.g., in a newspaper, on-air, and online), and supplement the story with graphics, data, audio, or video, which requires current knowledge of laws and doctrines for the copyright and fair use applicable to each format. They should understand the benefits and costs of publishing or broadcasting in these myriad formats.
Journalists who are developing their information literate abilities
Journalists who are developing their information literate abilities