Editing Journalistic scandal

{{Short description|Publicized controversy about journalistic actions}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2018}}
{{Journalism sidebar}}
'''Journalism scandals''' are high-profile incidents or acts, whether intentional or accidental, that run contrary to the generally accepted [[Journalism ethics and standards|ethics and standards of journalism]], or otherwise violate the 'ideal' mission of [[journalism]]: to report news events and issues accurately and fairly.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vishwendra |first=Mr Anant Chauhan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UoZCEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Journalism+scandals%22+%22mission+of+journalism%22&pg=PA125 |title=Global Trends in Media and Communications |date=2021-09-11 |publisher=K.K. Publications |language=en}}</ref>

As the investigative and reporting face of the media, [[journalist]]s are usually required to follow various [[journalistic standards]]. These may be written and codified, or customary expectations. Typical standards include references to [[honesty]], avoiding [[journalistic bias]], demonstrating [[Moral responsibility|responsibility]], striking an appropriate balance between [[privacy]] and [[public interest]], shunning financial or romantic<ref>{{cite news |last1=JOE POMPEO |title="EVERY BONE IN MY BODY WANTS TO DEFEND ALI WATKINS": SEX, PRESS FREEDOM, AND THE COMPLICATED CASE OF A TIMES REPORTER |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/06/sex-press-freedom-and-the-complicated-case-of-a-times-reporter |access-date=6 July 2018 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=28 June 2018 |quote=[S]taff members who develop close relationships with people who might figure in coverage they provide, edit, package, or supervise must disclose those relationships to the standards editor, the associate managing editor for news administration, or the deputy editorial page editor. In some cases, no further action may be needed. But in other instances staff members may have to recuse themselves from certain coverage. And in still other cases, assignments may have to be modified or beats changed. In a few instances, a staff member may have to move to a different department—from business and financial news, say, to the culture desk—to avoid the appearance of conflict.}}</ref> [[conflict of interest]], and choosing ethical means to obtain information.  Penalties may vary, but have been known to include re-assignment to other jobs in the same company.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Elahe Izadi |last2=Paul Farhi |title=The New York Times could not verify ISIS claims in its 'Caliphate' podcast. Now it's returning a prestigious award. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/caliphate-review-new-york-times-rukmini-callimachi-podcast-error/2020/12/18/059eb11a-413f-11eb-8bc0-ae155bee4aff_story.html |access-date=8 January 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=18 December 2020 |quote=Like Callimachi, other Times journalists have been reassigned, rather than fired, when their work or conduct has been called into question. Deputy editorial page editor James Dao was reassigned in the wake of the uproar over publication of Cotton’s op-ed, as was Glenn Thrush, a former Times White House reporter who was taken off the beat in 2017 after allegations of misconduct arose when he was employed by Politico. Ali Watkins, who covered national security for the Times, was given a new assignment in 2018 after she disclosed that she had had a romantic relationship with a Senate Intelligence Committee staffer with access to sensitive intelligence data. }}</ref>

Journalistic scandals are public [[scandal]]s arising from incidents where in the eyes of some party, these standards were significantly breached. In most journalistic scandals, deliberate or accidental acts take place that run contrary to the generally accepted [[Journalism ethics and standards|ethics and standards of journalism]], or otherwise violate the 'ideal' mission of [[journalism]]: to report news events and issues accurately and fairly.

==Common characteristics==
Journalistic scandals include:  [[plagiarism]], [[Lie#Fabrication|fabrication]], and [[Purposeful omission|omission]] of information; activities that violate the law, or violate ethical rules; the altering or staging of an event being documented; or making substantial reporting or researching errors with the results leading to [[libel]]ous or defamatory statements.

All journalistic scandals have the common factor that they call into question the integrity and truthfulness of [[journalism]]. These scandals shift public focus and scrutiny onto the media itself.
Because credibility is journalism's main currency, many news agencies and [[mass media]] outlets have [[Journalism ethics and standards|strict codes of conduct]] and enforce them, and use several layers of editorial oversight to catch problems before stories are distributed.

However, in some cases, investigations later found that long-established journalistic [[checks and balances]] in the newsrooms failed. In some cases, senior editors fail to catch bias, libel, or fabrication inserted into a story by a reporter. 

In other cases, the checks and balances were omitted in the rush to get an important, 'breaking' news story to press (or on air). Furthermore, in many libel and defamation cases, the publication would have had full support of editorial oversight in case of yellow journalism.

==See also==
* [[:Category:Journalistic scandals]]
* [[Janet Cooke|Janet Leslie Cooke]]
* [[Jayson Blair]]
* [[Sabrina Erdely]]
* [[Stephen Glass]]
* [[Johann Hari]]
* [[Molly Ball]]
* [[Claas Relotius]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Journalistic Scandal}}
[[Category:Deception]]
[[Category:Journalistic scandals| ]]
[[Category:Media bias]]