AUP STUDENT MEDIA - JOURNALISM ETHICS AGREEMENT

As a student enrolled and/or participating in Peacock Media and Journalism courses, I recognize that my work must adhere to basic standards and best practices in the profession.

I hereby agree to uphold the following core principles of professional ethics in journalism:

1. Accuracy. I will ensure that my work adheres to basic principles of accuracy, striving to gather relevant facts, fact-checking and corroborating all information before publication.
2. Fairness and Impartiality. I will ensure that my reporting adheres to basic “fairness” principles by striving to be balanced and putting information in context in order to establish credibility and trust with our audiences.
3. Corrections. I promise to undertake in a timely manner any corrections to factual inaccuracies or misrepresentations.
4. Independence. I will show no favor or negative bias towards any particular person, physical or moral. I will declare any conflict of interest and will refrain from accepting gifts or any other inducement in exchange for favorable coverage.
5. Slander and Libel. I will ensure that my work does not harm or impugn the reputation of any person, physical or moral, in an unfair, unjustified, or gratuitous manner.
6. Plagiarism. I promise that my work will be my own and will not be copied or borrowed from any other sources without attribution.
7. Fabrication. I promise that my work will never invent information, fabricate non-existent events, or falsify quotes or any other information.
8. Misrepresentation. I promise that I will always represent myself accurately when requesting interviews, and will indicate unequivocally whether my work will be published. I will also be clear with interview subjects about whether an interview is for attribution, off-the-record or for background only.
9. Ownership. I understand that the content – including articles, photos and videos – produced for Peacock Media belongs to AUP Student Media; I must ask permission from the Peacock Board if I would like to reproduce this content elsewhere or request removing it.