By: Miki Johnson The Associated Press released an updated "statement of news values and principles" today in a move AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said was meant to provide for more transparency.
The policy, which is posted on the AP's
Web site, combines information about reporter conduct from different AP manuals under a new preamble designed to enunciate the wire service's ethical standards.
"We really wanted to express a higher purpose we all feel about what we do," Carroll explained.
The preamble enumerates practices that constitute "ethical behavior," advising staff to strive to identify sources, not plagiarize, not misidentify themselves to get information, and quickly deal with any questions of abuse.
Although certain phrases in the anonymous source section such as call to mind recent sourcing scandals -- "The description of a source must never be altered without consulting the reporter" -- Carroll said a combination of issues raised in the past five years had prompted the detailed look at anonymous sourcing.
The statement is intended as a resource for new AP employees, pulling together information from all formats, but Carroll acknowledges it is also a step toward the transparency the statement lists as "critical to our credibility with the public and our subscribers."
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