EYE ON ETHICS

Caution in criticising judicial acts

47. Excepting where the court sits ‘in-camera’ or directs otherwise, it is open to a newspaper to report pending judicial proceedings, in a fair, accurate and reasonable manner. But it shall not publish any-thing:

-which, in its direct and immediate effect, creates a substantial risk of obstructing, impeding or prejudicing seriously the due ad-ministration of justice; or

-is in the nature of a running commentary or debate or records the paper’s own findings, conjectures, reflection or comments on is-sues sub judice and which may amount to arrogation to the newspaper the functions of the court; or

-regarding the personal character of the accused standing trial on a charge of committing a crime.

Newspaper shall not as a matter of caution, publish or comment on evidence collected as a result of investigative journalism, when, after the accused is arrested and charged, the court becomes seized of the case : Nor should they reveal, comment upon or evaluate a confession allegedly made by the accused.

48. While newspapers may, in the public interest, make reasonable criticism of a judicial act or the judgement of a court for public good; they shall not cast scurrilous aspersions on, or impute improper motives or personal bias to the judge. Nor shall they scandalise the court or the judiciary as a whole or make personal allegations of lack of ability or integrity against a judge.

49. Newspaper shall as a matter of caution avoid unfair and un-warranted criticism which, by innuendo, attributes to judge extraneous consideration for performing an act in due course of his/her judicial functions, even if such criticism does not strictly amount to criminal Contempt of Court.

Newspapers to avoid crass commercialism

50. While newspapers are entitled to ensure, improve or strengthen their financial viability by all legitimate means, the Press shall not engage in crass commercialism or unseemly cut-throat commercial competition with their rivals in a manner repugnant to high professional standards and good taste.

51. Predatory price wars/ trade competition among newspapers, laced with tones disparaging the products of each other initiated and carried on in print assume the colour of unfair trade, repugnant to journalistic ethics. The question as to when it assumes such an un-ethical character is one of the fact depending on the circumstances of each case.

Plagiarism

52. Using or passing off the writings or ideas of another as one’s own, without crediting the source, is an offence against the ethics of journalism.

Unauthorised lifting of news

53. The practice of lifting news from other newspapers and publishing them subsequently as their own, ill-comports with the high standards of journalism. To remove its unethicality, the ‘lifting’ news-paper must duly acknowledge the source of the report. The position of features articles is different from ‘news’ : Feature articles shall not be lifted without permission / proper acknowledgement.

54. The press shall not reproduce in any form offending portions or excerpts from a proscribed book.

Non-return of unsolicited material

55. A paper is not bound to return unsolicited material sent for consideration of publication. However when the same is accompanied by stamped envelope the paper should make all efforts to return it.

Advertisements

56. Commercial advertisements are information as much as social, economic or political information. What is more, advertisements shape attitude and ways of life at least as much as other kinds of in-formation and comment. Journalistic propriety demands that advertisements must be clearly distinguishable from editorial matters carried in the newspaper.

57. Newspaper shall not publish anything which has a tendency to malign wholesale or hurt the religious sentiments of any community or section of society.

58. Advertisements which offend the provisions of the Drugs and Magical Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954 should be rejected.

59. Newspapers should not publish an advertisement containing, anything which is unlawful or illegal, or is contrary to good taste or to journalistic ethics or proprieties.

60. Newspapers while publishing advertisements, shall specify the amount received by them. The rationale behind this is that advertisements should be charged at rates usually chargeable by a news-paper since payment of more than the normal rates would amount to a subsidy to the paper.

61. Publication of dummy advertisements that have neither been paid for nor authorised by the advertisers, constitute breach of journalistic ethics.

62. Deliberate failure to publish an advertisement in all the copies of a newspaper offends against the standards of journalistic ethics and constitutes gross professional misconduct.

63. There should be no lack of vigilance or a communication gap between the advertisement department and the editorial department of a newspaper in the matter of considering the propriety or other-wise of an advertisement received for publication.

64. The editors should insist on their right to have the final say in the acceptance or rejection of advertisements, specially those which border on or cross the line between “decency and obscenity”.

65. An editor shall be responsible for all matters, including advertisements published in the newspaper. If responsibility is disclaimed, this shall be explicitly stated beforehand.

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