| Sumario: | This article claims that the ethical lapses that have bedeviled journalism can be answered by the code of ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists. Good journalists often are prying open closed doors, mining for hidden information, and dealing with the dishonest and the corrupt. As a result, our Code of Ethics deliberately avoids speaking in absolutes. It recognizes there are times when journalists go undercover, times when they must intrude on someone's privacy to convey crucial information to a large number of people, times when showing graphic photos may be appropriate. So it is noteworthy that the code opts for rigidity in declaring never plagiarize. As we have seen in the past few years, the impact of stealing another's words can deal a staggering blow to journalism organizations, not to mention the journalists who find their careers left in tatters. What about privacy, a major concern of the public these days? It is in the code: Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public, officials. That section of the code sends an important message to the public, in bold type: Minimize harm. While this section of the code lists the ways journalists can and should protect the subjects of their stories, implicit in the word minimize, is the fact that we usually cannot eliminate the harm that can be done while covering news.
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