The Ten Most Important Commandments of Journalism

1. Test the accuracy of information from all sources and excercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
2. Never plagiarize.
3. Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status.
4. Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.
5. Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
6. Avoid conflict of interest, real or perceived.
7. Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable.
8. Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
9.Make sure that headlines, new 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.
10. Be judicious about naming criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.