Journalism Ethics

April 1, 2019
Grades 5-8 With so many questions today about how journalists work and the parameters of good journalism, this strong entry from the Young Citizen's Guide to News Literacy series (8 titles) is right on time with answers. The book begins with the basic rules of journalism, which include making reports accurate, fair, and factual and verifying information. But the devil is in the details, so much of the book is devoted to showing how journalists make sure their reports meet those criteria. Sometimes, however, journalists get it wrong, and the issues of prejudice, anonymous sources, and just plain mistakes are examined. There is some coverage of the history of journalism and a look at reporting versus opinion. Solid questions to the reader are raised about how to handle certain situations. Required material to have in the era of "fake news."(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)