What is the thinking behind the Principles?
A. The best journalism always has adhered to high standards. We believe the time has come to articulate these standards to ensure that everyone newsroom staffs as well as the public understands what Gannett Newspaper Division newsrooms stand for. Ethics and credibility have been major topics in the industry for the past two decades. Recent surveys by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Freedom Forum, the Pew Research Center and other organizations all point to a decline in readers’ trust in newspapers and other media. And yet we know that all but a very few journalists act with care and with the best intentions of serving our readers and communities. We want to underscore that while establishing clear guidelines in news gathering.
