Our News Policies at WACH FOX News
We recognize that we work in a highly competitive, promotion-driven business. But we believe that being first with a story is never as important as being accurate. We will never rush to get a story on the air, until we are confident the information we have is the correct information. And in the cases of especially controversial stories, we will confirm our information with two independent sources before we use it on the air.
WACH FOX News subscribes to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, which requires journalists to seek the truth and report it, to minimize harm, to act independently and to be accountable.
Our duty as professional journalists often requires that we put people on the news, who do not wish to be there. But we will never do so in an arrogant or insensitive fashion, and will always take into account privacy concerns as we weigh the importance of a story. Under no circumstances will we ever stalk or hound the victims of crime or tragedy.
We recognize that an overemphasis on crime coverage would harm our community through portraying it in a false light of negativism. We will cover crime in such a way as to provide context, meaning, perspective and relevance. Before airing any crime story we will weigh its newsworthiness with the following questions:
-
Is there an immediate danger or threat to the public?
-
Is immediate action required?
-
Is the safety or welfare of children involved?
-
Is there a larger issue with public policy implications?
-
Does the story touch, or should it touch, hearts in our community?
-
Does the story spotlight a new crime trend or issue at the neighborhood level of which residents should be aware?
Our commitment to accuracy and responsibility applies to everything we do, including promotions. We will never make a claim that is not true and accurate, and we will never intentionally mislead the public through our promotions.
Much of the news our journalistic duty requires us to cover is by nature ugly. We will not filter out such stories in any way. However, we will take extra steps to find and report positive or uplifting stories that reflect the true character of life in our community. We will meet regularly with members of our community in order to discover those stories in person.
We will invite and respond to public input and feedback on our newsgathering decisions and philosophy. We will present and respond to viewer feedback within our newscasts on a regular basis. We will eagerly and diligently investigate complaints, publicly admit any mistakes and correct them prominently.
|
