At the heart of every news organization lies its ethics. What values does it stand for? What can news consumers expect from its content? Responding to rising interest in ethics, ONA is launching an ongoing Ethics and Standards Forum, led by AP Standards Editor Tom Kent.
ONA13 is sponsored by the University of Colorado-Boulder.
To decide what to focus on first, all ONA participants are invited to an interactive workshop Thursday afternoon. The #ONA2013ethics conversation, to continue later Thursday and Friday at an ethics table in the Midway, is aimed at setting priorities, coming up with a structure for the initiative and identifying volunteers to help lead it.
Possible topics include UGC verification, online corrections, advertising standards, drone photography and the expunging of items from online archives. There’s also the host of new people in the newsroom: app developers, data wranglers and others who weren’t born to the world of journalism. What ethical training do they need — and what can they teach traditional journalists?
Our international group of panelists represent traditional media, new media and the world of academia. They will speak only briefly, then break into groups with you to discuss your needs. International participants are particularly welcome to help give the initiative a worldwide scope. Come join us!
Tom Kent is deputy managing editor and standards editor at the Associated Press.
