Ethics for Digital Journalists: Emerging Best Practices

The rapid growth of online media has led to new complications in journalism ethics and practice. While traditional ethical principles may not fundamentally change when information is disseminated online, applying them across platforms has become more challenging as new kinds of interactions develop between journalists and audiences.

In Ethics for Digital Journalists, Lawrie Zion and David Craig draw together the international expertise and experience of journalists and scholars who have all been part of the process of shaping best practices in digital journalism. Drawing on contemporary events and controversies like the Boston Marathon bombing and the Arab Spring, the authors examine emerging best practices in everything from transparency and verification to aggregation, collaboration, live blogging, tweeting and the challenges of digital narratives. At a time when questions of ethics and practice are challenged and subject to intense debate, this book is designed to provide students and practitioners with the insights and skills to realize their potential as professionals.

Lawrie Zion is an Associate Professor of Journalism at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and editor-in-chief of upstart magazine. He has worked as a broadcaster with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and as a film journalist for a range of print publications. He wrote and researched the 2007 documentary The Sounds of Aus, which tells the story of the Australian accent.

David Craig is a Professor of Journalism and Associate Dean at the University of Oklahoma in the United States. He is the author of Excellence in Online Journalism: Exploring Current Practices in an Evolving Environment and The Ethics of the Story: Using Narrative Techniques Responsibly in Journalism.