(Published by the Media Industry Steering Committee, with the assistance of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Nairobi 2001).
Preamble
Whereas the freedom of expression and the right of the public to information are fundamental to the establishment, nurturing and sustenance of a democratic society,
AND
Whereas respect for truth and for the right of the public to truth is the first duty of a journalist,
AND
Whereas the right of the public to know must be balanced against the need to protect the privacy of individuals in a manner that secures the public interest,
NOW THEREFORE, we members of the Media Industry Steering Committee, hereby adopt this Code of Conduct as the foundation for the practice of journalism in Kenya.
- Accuracy and Fairness
a) The fundamental objective of a jour¬nalist is to write a fair, accurate and an unbiased story on matters of pub¬lic interest. All sides of the story should be reported. It is important to obtain comments from anyone who is mentioned in an unfavourable con¬text.
b) Whenever it is recognised that an in¬accurate, misleading or distorted story has been published or broad¬cast, it should be corrected promptly.
Corrections should present the correct information and should not restate the error except when clarity demands.
c) An apology should be published or broadcast whenever appropriate.
d) When stories fall short on accuracy and fairness, they should not be pub¬lished. Journalists, while free to be partisan, should distinguish clearly in their reports between comment, con¬jecture and fact.
e) In general, provocative and alarming headlines should be avoided. Head¬ings must reflect and justify the mat¬ter printed under them. Headings con¬taining allegations made in statements should either identify the body or the source making them or at least carry quotation marks.
- Opportunity to Reply
A fair opportunity to reply to inaccu¬racies should be given to individuals or organisations when reasonably called for. If the request to correct inaccuracies in a story is in the form of a letter, the editor has the discretion to publish it in full or in its abridged and edited version, particu¬larly when it is too long. But the remain¬der should be an effective reply to the al¬legations. However, the editor should not omit or refuse to publish important por¬tions of the reply /rejoinder which effec¬tively deal with the accuracy of the reply / rejoinder. If the editor doubts the truth or factual accuracy of the reply/ rejoinder, even then it is his or her duty to publish it with liberty to append an editorial comment doubting its veracity. Note that this should be clone only when this doubt is reasonably founded on unimpeachable evidence in the editor's possession. The editor should not, in a cavalier fashion, without due application of mind, append such a note as: "We stand by our story". In this context, these standards also apply to electronic media.
- Letter to the Editor
An editor who decides to open his/ her columns on a controversial subject is not obliged to publish all the letters received in regard to that subject. He/she may select and publish only some of them either in their entirety or the gist thereof. However, in exercising this right, he/she should make an honest attempt to ensure that what is published is not one-sided but presents a fair balance be pros and cons of the principal issue. The editor has the discretion to decide at which point to end the debate in the event of a rejoinder upon rejoinder being sent by two or more parties on a controversial subject.
In the case of the electronic media, a broadcasting licensee who presents a programme in which controversial issues of public importance are discussed shall make reasonable effort to fairly present significant points of view either in the same programme or in a subsequent one forming part of the same series of programmes presented within a reasonable period of time in substantially the same time slot.
In addition, a person whose views have been criticised in a broadcasting programme on a controversial issue of public importance shall be given a reasonable opportunity to reply should such a person so request.
- Unnamed Sources
Unnamed sources should not be used unless the pursuit of the truth will best be served by not naming the source who must known by the editor and reporter. When material is used in a report from sources other than the reporter' s, these sources should be indicated in the story.
- Confidentiality
In general, journalists have a professional obligation to protect confidential sources of information.
- Misrepresentation
a) Journalists should generally identify themselves and not obtain or seek to obtain information or pictures through misrepresentation or subter¬fuge.
b) Subterfuge can be justified only in the public interest and only when mate¬rial cannot be obtained by any other means. The public interest includes detecting or exposing crime or serious misdemeanour or anti-social conduct, protecting public health or safety, pre¬venting the public from being misled by some statement or action of an in¬dividual.
- Obscenity, Taste and Tone in Reporting
In general, the media should avoid publishing obscene, vulgar, or offensive material unless such material contains a news value which is necessary in the pub¬lic interest.
In the same vein, publication of pho¬tographs showing mutilated bodies, bloody incidents, and abhorrent scenes should be avoided unless the publication of such photographs will serve the pub¬lic interest. Television stations must exer¬cise great care and responsibility when presenting programmes where children are likely to be part of the audience.
- Paying for News and Articles
When money is paid for information, serious questions can be raised about the credibility of that information and the motives of the buyer and the seller. There¬fore, in principle, journalists should avoid paying for information unless public in¬terest is involved. In the same context, jour¬nalists should not receive any money as an incentive to publish any information.
- Plagiarism
a) Using someone else's work without attribution - whether deliberately or thoughtlessly - is a serious ethical breach. However, borrowing ideas from elsewhere is considered fair journalistic practice.
b) Words directly quoted from sources other than the writer's own report¬ing should be attributed. In general, when other work is used as the source for stylistic inspiration the final result must be clearly different from the original work of the reporter.
- Discrimination
In general, the media should avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to a per¬son's race, tribe, clan, religion, sex or sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or handicap. These details should be avoided unless they are crucial to the story.
- Covering Ethnic, Religious, and Sectarian Conflict
News, views or comments relating to ethnic, religious, or sectarian disputes should be published alter proper verifica¬tion of facts and presented with due cau¬tion and restraint in a manner which is conducive to the creation of an atmosphere congenial to national harmony, amity and peace. Provocative and alarming headlines are to be avoided. News reports or com¬mentaries should not be written in a man¬ner likely to inflame the passions, aggra¬vate the tension or accentuate the strained relations between the communities con¬cerned. Equally so, articles with the po¬tential to exacerbate communal trouble should be avoided.
- Recording Interviews and Telephone Conversations
Except in justifiable cases, journalists should not tape or record anyone without the person' s knowledge. An exception may be made only if the recording is necessary to protect the journalist in a legal action or for some other compelling reason. In this context, these standards also apply to elec¬tronic media.
13a. Privacy
a) The public's right to know often needs to be weighed against the pri¬vacy rights of people in the news.
b) The journalist must stick to the issues.
c) Intrusion and inquiries into an indi¬vidual's private life without the per¬son's consent are not generally ac¬ceptable unless public interest is in¬volved. Public interest must itself be legitimate and not merely prurient or morbid curiosity. Things concerning a person's home, family, religion, tribe, health, sexuality, personal life and private affairs are covered by the concept of privacy except where these impinge upon the public.
13b. Intrusion into Grief and Shock
In cases involving personal grief or shock, inquiries should be made with sensitivity and discretion.
- Sex Discrimination
Women and men should be treated equally as news subjects and news sources.
- Financial Journalism
a) Journalists should not use financial information they receive in advance of its general publication for their own benefit. They should not also pass the same information to others.
b) Journalists should not write about shares, securities and other market in¬struments in whose performance they know they or their close families have a significant financial interest, without disclosing the interest to the editor.
Journalists should not buy or sell, di¬rectly or through nominees or agents, shares or securities and other market instruments about which they intend to write in the near future.
- Protection of Children
Children should not be identified in cases concerning sexual offences, whether as victims, witnesses, or defendants. Ex¬cept in matters of public interest, e.g., cases of child abuse or abandonment, jour¬nalists should not normally interview or photograph children on subjects involv¬ing their personal welfare in the absence or without the consent of a parent or other adult who is responsible for the children. Children should not be approached or photographed while at school and other formal institutions without the permission of school authorities. In adhering to this principle, a journalist should always take into account specific cases of children in difficult circumstances.
- Victims of Sex Crimes
The media should not identify victims of sexual assault or publish material likely to contribute to such identification. Such publication does not serve any legitimate journalistic or public need and may bring social opprobrium to the victims and so¬cial embarrassment to their relations, fam¬ily, friends, community, religious order or the institutions to which they belong.
- Use of Pictures and Names
As a general rule, the media should apply caution in the use of pictures and names and avoid publication of any where there is a possibility of harming the per¬sons concerned. Manipulation of pictures in a manner that distorts reality should be avoided. Pictures of grief, disaster and those that embarrass and promote sexism should be discouraged.
- Innocent Relatives and Friends
The media should generally avoid identifying relatives or friends of persons convicted or accused of crime unless the reference to them is necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime or legal proceedings.
- Acts of Violence
The media should avoid presenting acts of violence, armed robberies, ban¬ditry and terrorist activity in a manner that glorifies such anti-social conduct. Also, newspapers should not allow their columns to be used for writings which tend to encourage or glorify social evils, warlike activities, ethnic, racial and reli¬gious hostilities.
- Editor's Responsibility
The editor shall assume responsibility for all content, including advertisements, published in the newspaper. If responsi¬bility is disclaimed, this shall be explicitly stated before hand.
- Advertisements
The editor should not allow any advertisement which is contrary to any as¬pect of this Code of Conduct. In this re¬gard, and to the extent applicable, the edi¬tor should be guided by the Advertisers' Code of Conduct.
