Last Updated: February 17, 1999
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The Record, Hackensack, NJ
An Ethics Code
Introduction
The Record acknowledges that there is no way to anticipate all situations
that might raise ethical questions for staff members. At the same
time, The Record believes its staff members should perform their jobs within
the prescribed ethical guidelines outlined in this code. The newspaper
also believes that to a large degree staffers must be the judges of their
own standards. They must avoid actual or perceived conflicts of interest
that might lead to embarrassment for themselves or for the newspaper.
And they must avoid situations in which they or the newspaper would be
beholden - or appear to be beholden - to any person, organization, or agenda.
This ethics code applies only to Record staffers. We cannot impose
on loved ones the same bans we do on members of the staff.
However, a loved one's employment or activities at times may create
a potential or real conflict of interest for the staffer. In those
cases, it would be best for the staffer to inform his or her superior of
the situation. The staffer should also take steps to avoid such a
conflict.
For example, if a staffer's wife is the mayor of Shadyvale Township,
the staffer should not be making decisions about the paper's coverage of
Shadyvale politics. If stocks are held in the names of a staffer's
children, the staffer may still may have a conflict of interest if asked
to cover that company.
We offer no definition of "loved one," because that will differ from
employee to employee. Some people are very close to their cousins,
or their neighbors.
Obviously, questions will arise under this code. If a staff member
is in doubt about an ethical question, he or she should take the question
to the immediate supervisor. Similarly, a staffer should go to the
immediate supervisor if he or she seeks an exemption from the ethics code
regarding a specific situation.
If a staffer disagrees with a supervisor's ruling on an ethical question,
the staffer can appeal to the editor or to a person or committee that the
editor may designate to hear ethics questions. No staffer will be
penalized for making such an appeal.
Neither will any staffer be penalized for adhering to the ethics code.
For example, a reporter who discloses his or her outside income or investments
in advance of being considered for a job in the business department will
not be penalized for holding those investments or for having that income.
Investments
While there is no desire on the part of the newspaper to interfere in
an employee's finances, the following guidelines are designed to ensure
that the newspaper's integrity is not compromised by a staffer's investments.
A staffer should avoid making news decisions about a company in which
he or she has investments.
A staff member may not use unpublished information gathered by The Record
to make investment decisions.
If a staff member is assigned to or finds him or herself covering a
story about a company in which he or she has investments, the staffer should
immediately tell his or her department head.
If a staff member's job is to write about investments and investment
opportunities, that staffer should take extreme care to avoid actions that
might suggest he or she was using the position for personal financial gain.
Politics
Politics and government pose special conflict of interest problems for
us as journalists. Because of this, staff members should neither
seek nor hold elective public office at any level of government.
Staff members should also not accept any appointment to public office.
This rule applies equally to staffers who live within our circulation area
and outside that area, and applies to all staffers regardless of their
beats and responsibilities.
Staffers should not be involved in partisan politics with the exception
of registering with a party and voting. Staffers should also not
make contributions to political candidates or parties.
Community Involvement.
The Record encourages its employees to be active in community affairs
(as long as they don't join groups they are covering). Such outside
interests and avocations help keep the newspaper vital and in touch with
the world it covers. Involvement, however, is subject to the following
standards:
That community involvement’s do not sway our news judgments.
That staffers not take actions that would bring into question the impartiality
of the newspaper.
Staffers are permitted to join non-partisan community organizations,
so long as the staffers meet the above standards. Staffers should
not assume a leadership role in any organization that generally would be
expected to make news.
If a news story develops concerning an organization in which a staffer
is a member, he or she should abstain from decisions on that story, and
must inform his or her superior of the potential conflict.
Staffers may express their views on matters that affect them as citizens
at public meetings and elsewhere, but must not present themselves as representatives
of The Record, and must seek not to become part of the news.
Staff members can, in consultation with the editor, speak out on issues
of journalistic professional concern such as open meetings and open records.
Gifts
The Record prohibits its staffers from accepting gifts of any kind from
news sources and people it covers or might cover. Similarly, The
Record pays the bill of staffers for travel, accommodations, restaurant
tabs, and other expenses. The reason is that the newspaper does not
want its staffers to be beholden to anyone.
When a reporter has a meal with a news source or person in the news,
he or she is expected to either split the tab or pay the entire amount.
In the case of a continuing relationship, a reporter could pick up the
first tab and then allow the news source to pick up the second, etc.
However, the staffer must make certain that he or she does not create a
situation in which the staffer would in any way be under obligation to
the news source. In general, the best policy is to split the tab.
The ban on gifts includes free tickets to sports and cultural events.
Reporters - and reviewers - are exempted only for the specific events they
are covering. For example, a theater reviewer could not accept free
tickets to a performance that he or she was not assigned to cover.
The reviewer, however, is entitled to accept two free tickets to the show
he or she is reviewing, as long as they are used for business reasons.
Staffers are also prohibited from requesting an opportunity to buy tickets
to an event that is normally sold out, such as a playoff game, or for seats
that are normally sold out. Staffers are expected to purchase tickets
in the same way a member of the public would buy them.
In barring gifts to staffers, The Record recognizes that there are exceptions
for trifling matters such as a cup of coffee. Nobody would expect
a reporter to refuse a cup of coffee or muffin offered by a candidate holding
an early morning press conference, for example. A staffer participating
in a panel by a civic association could accept an invitation to stay for
lunch or refreshments. Staffers may use unsolicited product samples
from their beats. For example, the food editor can and should taste
the food. And books sent in for review can be left on a table for
takers if the editors decide against reviewing them. Obviously, staffers
should not ask publishers for a review copy when they are not going to
review the book.
Use of sources
The use of material and quotes attributed to anonymous sources can harm
the credibility of the paper.
The Record, therefore, strongly encourages reporters to persuade their
sources to speak for attribution. Many sources who initially seek
anonymity will agree to be quoted by name when pressed. If we cannot
name them, we should tell our readers as much as possible about them their
position, political party, town, or age, and why they insist on anonymity.
In some cases, this may be impossible. In other cases, it may
even be unwise. For example, in a story on unhealthy family relationships,
it would be insensitive on our part to insist on identifying a person who
was talking about how he or she had been molested by a family member during
childhood.
The decision on whether to use unattributed material and quotes should
be made by the reporter's immediate editor - or the editor acting in that
behalf. The reporter should tell this editor who the anonymous source
is. These decisions will consider:
The sensitivity of the subject matter at hand;
Whether the source has a valid reason for seeking anonymity;
Whether the source has personal biases which color his or her comments
on an issue, and which the reader ought to know.
The number of sources and their background and reliability.
Reporters, of course, should feel free to use anonymous sources in gathering
tips to be checked and confirmed later with identified sources.
Press Visors
Editorial press visors issued by The Record are only to be displayed
when they are an absolute necessity to do your job. If they are not
a necessity for an assignment, don't display them on your dashboard or
in public.
An example of a proper use would be to display the press visor in order
to cross police lines to cover a fire.
An example of an improper use would be to display the press visor while
parked at a meter, because if the meter expires, there could be the perception
that you're trying to avoid a ticket.
Use them judiciously.
