Cavendish University School of Mass Communication

Most student who graduate from private institutions especially in Zambia ask themselves whether they will be easily be employed by the governments? or if they graduate from this private institutions whether they can be accepted in government institutions to pursue their masters degree or not. I have taken keen interest in this story as i hail from both private and government institutions? So starting this week i want to share with you my findings?

preaMBle
Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty
of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists
from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility.
Members of the Society share a dedication to ethical behavior and adopt this code to declare the Society’s principles and standards of practice.Seek TruTh and reporT IT
Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting
and interpreting information.
Journalists should:
u Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid
inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
u Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond
to allegations of wrongdoing.
u Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information
as possible on sources’ reliability.
u Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions
attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.
u Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video,
audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not
oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.
u Never distort the content of news photos or video Image enhancement for technical
clarity is always permissible. Label montages and photo illustrations.
u Avoid misleading re-enactments or staged news events. If re-enactment is necessary
to tell a story, label it.
u Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except
when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public.
Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story.
u Never plagiarize.
u Tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience boldly,
even when it is unpopular to do so.
u Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing those values
on others.
u Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual
orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status.
u Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.
u Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be.