Financial Interests: Ethical Choice

Financial Interests: Ethical Choice
1 Financial Interests
Answer: Choice A, C, and F
Choice A: We will consider a disclosure page on our blog or website that lists our financial interests if we cover business or finance regularly.
Choice C: Our journalists should immediately disclose to a supervisor any interests they have in a company they are asked to cover. Supervisors should consider putting another journalist on the story.
Choice F: Our journalists may invest in equity index-related products and publicly available diversified mutual funds or commodity pools, but should disclose them if they happen to cover a particular fund in which they have an interest.
2 Community Activities
Answer: Choices B and D
Choice B: Our journalists should avoid community involvement in areas that they cover. Journalists should tell their supervisors about their community involvements, including when a story suddenly arises that may present a conflict. When they have to cover an area where they have a personal involvement, we should consider assigning another journalist. If a conflict can’t be avoided, coverage should disclose the conflict.
Choice D: Our journalists should disclose community involvements, particularly those involving topics they might cover, both in general statements we publish on our websites and in stories relating to their involvements.
3 Gifts, Free Travel, and Other Perks
Answer: Choices D and I
Choice D: Our journalists may accept tickets or press passes to events we are covering or reviewing, but should not accept extra tickets for family and friends.
Choice I: Our journalists who travel internationally should use good judgment to determine if upholding our gift policy would be culturally insensitive. If a journalist would accept gifts that would normally violate our ethics, we should disclose the gift and/or donate it to charity.
4 Personal Ethics Statement by Staff
Answer: Choice C
Our organization’s policy prevails if personal ethics codes and organizational policy conflict.
5 Plagiarism and Attribution
Answer: Choices A, C, D, E, G
Choice A: We must always attribute all sources by name and, if the source is digital, by linking to the original source.
Choice C: When we are using someone else’s exact words, we should use quotation marks and attribution.
Choice D: Attribution should be as specific as possible, including the name of the author and publication or organization of the source we are quoting.
Choice E: We should always cite news releases if they are our sources, and should quote them if using their exact words.
Choice G: Even when taking basic facts from another source—“ World War II ended in Allied victories over Germany and Japan.”—we should vary the wording from the phrasing used in source materials.
6 Political Activities by Staff
Answer: Choices A, B, and E
Choice A: Our journalists should avoid political involvement such as r...