Journalism scandals are high-profile incidents or acts, whether intentional or accidental, that run contrary to the typically accepted ethics and standards of journalism, or otherwise violate the 'ideal' mission of journalism: to report news events and issues accurately and fairly.

Journalistic scandal

As the investigative and reporting face of the media, journalists are typically required to follow various journalistic standards. These may be written and codified, or customary expectations. Typical standards include references to honesty, journalistic bias, responsibility, an appropriate balance between privacy and public interest, financially motivated writing, and the means used to obtain information which may be legitimate or criminal.

Journalistic scandals are public scandals arising from incidents where in the eyes of some party, these standards were significantly breached. In most journalistic scandals, deliberate or accidental acts take place that run contrary to the typically accepted ethics and standards of journalism, or otherwise violate the 'ideal' mission of journalism: to report news events and issues accurately and fairly.

Common characteristics

Journalistic scandals include: plagiarism, fabrication, and omission of information; activities that violate the law, or violate ethical rules; the altering or staging of an event being documented; or making substantial reporting or researching errors with the results leading to libelous or defamatory statements.

All journalistic scandals have the common factor that they call into question the integrity and truthfulness of journalism. These scandals shift public focus and scrutiny onto the media itself. Because credibility is journalism's main currency, many news agencies and mass media outlets have strict codes of conduct and enforce them, and use several layers of editorial oversight to catch problems before stories are distributed.

However, in many of the cases listed below, investigations later found that long-established journalistic checks and balances in the newsrooms failed. In some cases, senior editors fail to catch bias, libel, or fabrication inserted into a story by a reporter. In other cases, the checks and balances were omitted in the rush to get an important, 'breaking' news story to press (or on air). Furthermore, in many libel and defamation case, the publication would had full support of editorial oversight in case of yellow journalism.

Use of the term

Public discrepancy of purposed factual content as well as sources and citation of bias and control of information. See also bias.

Scandal creation

In some sectors of the media, scandal is used deliberately, as a marketing tool, or a means to further a political or other goal.

The journalistic climate

Journalistic working methods and scandal

Impact and response

The changing face of scandal over time

Impact of journalistic scandals on society

Responses

Journalistic responsesMedia industry responsesGovernment responsesSocietal responses of individuals

The impact of the individual as reporter

The information era

Historically, news was for the most part in the hands of media corporations, who sourced, edited, managed and distributed journalistic writings. In the last years of the 20th Century and the start of the 21st century, this model came under challenge from Internet-mediated reporting and journalism. Commonly called Web 2.0, this was the use of the Internet for social interaction, including blogging - the keeping of web journals, first in text and later in multimedia formats with images and video. Blog uses included advocacy, journalistic and investigative work as well as personal diarizing, and harnessed the ability of the internet to make information instantly available to millions around the world, with low barriers to distribution and reception.

One of the earliest major impacts of blogging was felt in 2002, when comments suggestive of racial segregation by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott were reported and reinforced by documents and recorded interviews dug up by bloggers. (See Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo.) Though Lott's comments were made at a public event attended by the media, no major media organizations reported on his controversial comments until after blogs broke the story, with Lott eventually forced to step down as majority leader.

Since 2002, blogs have gained increasing notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, and spinning news stories. The Iraq war saw bloggers taking measured and passionate points of view that go beyond the traditional left-right divide of the political spectrum. Blogging by established politicians and political candidates, to express opinions on war and other issues, cemented blogs' role as a news source. (See Howard Dean and Wesley Clark.) Meanwhile, an increasing number of experts blogged, making blogs a source of in-depth analysis. (See Daniel Drezner and J. Bradford DeLong.) Blogs were also created by soldiers serving in the Iraq war. Such "warblogs" often offered different or contradictory viewpoints from those of official news sources. It also gave obscure news sources a way to reach the public.

Impact of the information era and citizen-reporters on journalistic scandal

National perspectives and overview by country

United Kingdom

United States

Main article: United States journalism scandals