Journalism has its own ethics and standards that to be followed. When it comes to writing, there are professional news writing standards. All journalists are supposed to follow these standards.
Truth and Accuracy
They are the most important professional news writing standards. The rule is to never lie. According to The Basics of Media Writing, "accuracy means telling the truth and making sure it's the truth. That means checking and double-checking the facts." You give the readers all the facts needed to understand the story. This involves giving the who, what, when, where, why and how. However, sometimes the how and the why are not important. For example, if someone was in a car crash, how and why someone crashed is not as important as the fact that it happened.
Objectivity
It is the lack of bias, judgement, or prejudice in news reporting. News stories should be based on only on the facts and evidence you have gathered. According to The Basics of Media Writing, readers and listeners trust you as the journalist to gather the facts, interview your sources and present the information in a neutral way so they can form their own opinions-- not so that you can decide for them.
Fairness
This involves the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It means treating people as human beings. Putting yourself in the other person's shoes, according to The Basics of Media Writing. Fairness in dealing with co-workers and sources means they will treat you accordingly.
Balance
It means present a complete picture based on the information given. It gives the audience the opportunity to hear all sides of the story. According to The Basics of Media Writing, if you were writing about a local school board meeting with a group of parents protesting outside, you would report the conflict between the school board members and protesters and points from each side in quotes. Balance is important to a news article.
These are all used everyday in newspapers and magazines. Without these, articles would not make any since and be complete messes.
