A Brief Guide to the Standards and Values of Reuters Video News

EVERYTHING we do as Reuters journalists has to be independent, free from bias and executed with the utmost integrity. These are our core values and stem from the Reuters Trust Principles. This is a brief guide to our standards. Full details are available in The Handbook of Reuters Journalism.

Reuters journalists:
• Always hold accuracy sacrosanct.
• Always correct an error openly.
• Always strive for balance and freedom from bias.
• Always reveal a conflict of interest to a manager.
• Always respect privileged information.
• Always protect their sources from the authorities.
• Always guard against putting their opinion in a news story.
• Never fabricate or plagiarise.
• Never alter a still or moving image beyond the requirements of normal image enhancement.
• Never pay for a story and never accept a bribe.

Accuracy
Accuracy means that our images and stories must reflect reality. Reuters is transparent about errors. We correct them promptly and clearly, whether in a story, a caption, a graphic or a script.

Independence
Independence is the essence of our reputation as a "stateless" global news organisation and fundamental to the trust that allows us to report impartially from all sides of a conflict or dispute. Our independence stems not only from the structure of Reuters but also from our duty as journalists to avoid conflicts of interest or situations that could give rise to a perception of a conflict.

Freedom from Bias
Reuters would not be Reuters without freedom from bias. This neutrality is a hallmark of our news brand and allows us to work on all sides of an issue, conflict or dispute without any agenda other than accurate, fair reporting.

Integrity
Integrity requires us to adhere to the highest ethical standards of our profession and to the values enshrined in The Reuters Trust Principles. As a member of the Reuters team, you are expected to accept certain responsibilities, adhere to acceptable professional standards in matters of personal conduct and exhibit a high degree of personal integrity at all times.

Reuters Television
Whenever we are planning, covering or producing television stories, any ethical issues must first be held up to the guiding principles of accuracy, independence, freedom from bias and integrity. We have a duty to report stories accurately and impartially, giving additional information where necessary to clients about how that coverage was gathered, and the source of any video and textual information.

• Our scripts and shot-lists must be clear as to the source of any video material used, whether from Reuters, an allied broadcaster, amateur video, or third party which may have a political or commercial agenda (companies, lobby groups, military, militias, governments etc): e.g. "â’¦ video provided by the environmental group Greenpeace shows â’¦" or "â’¦video downloaded from a Web site known to be used by the group purports to show â’¦" or "â’¦amateur video obtained by Reuters â’¦"

With increased distribution of video over the public Internet, we may want to show the streaming video/still photographs as they appear on a PC or mobile handset screen. Producers and camera operators should consult news editors before using this footage, or any other third-party footage or photographs where copyright or authenticity may be an issue.

• The circumstances under which video is gathered may be important. We do not accept "junkets" from corporate/showbiz entities to cover stories at their expense, we never accept bribes and we do not accept gifts beyond those of nominal value. If we think it is a story we want, we should generally pay our own travel. Sometimes, however, we must travel with other entities as it is the only way to get to a story safely.

• If, for example, we have gone to the scene of a story as part of a military embed or with an aid agency going to a disaster, we must say so in our script: e.g. "â’¦ in a trip organised by the Israeli military, journalists were taken toâ’¦" Various entities often try to manipulate or stage-manage events - from military areas to business and entertainment. If we are restricted from going to certain areas or prevented from asking certain questions, we should make this clear in our copy.

• If we feel we are being unduly restricted and that the result would be a slanted story, we should be ready - in consultation with higher editorial management - to refuse to cover an event. Organised news events should be identified as such e.g. "â’¦the CEO was speaking at a live media event organised by the companyâ’¦"

• The mere presence of television cameras can affect what happens in the area being filmed. If someone is demonstrating something for us, we must say so; if a protest occurs in response to us turning up, we must say so: e.g. "â’¦residents protested at the scene of the attack after journalists arrived in the area" or "â’¦local rescue workers showed the media the bodies of those who died in the disaster."

• Reuters does not pay newsmakers for stories. However, we deal frequently with third-party material and we must be vigilant to ensure we have legal access to such material, for example in using appropriate Reuters forms in purchasing amateur or freelance video, both for news and archive purposes. We must source material as per the guidelines above, and be circumspect about what we say about such third-party material: e.g. "â’¦ the video purports to showâ’¦"

• We should say in our scripts and shot-lists if we are unable to verify what the video purports to show or when it was shot. There are cases when we do feel obliged to run compelling video, but we should be clear to our subscribers about what we know and what we don't know about the origin and contents of such material.

• We have a duty to show the scene of any story accurately without adding or removing - either physically or electronically - any contents. Reuters Television staff must do only what is minimally necessary to improve the technical quality of video. Our staff must never manipulate or add/remove the contents of video. Audio must never be added which may affect the editorial interpretation of a sequence or story.

• We never fake, fabricate or plagiarise a story. Video stories must not be shot, edited or scripted in a way which misleads the viewer or subscriber. We must tell the story accurately and strive to record events exactly as they happen. As neutral observers, we play no part in an event beyond documenting it. For example, when shooting demonstrations, we need to convey the scale of the event accurately, using wide shots as well as close-ups.

We must identify when we use file and never misrepresent the source, location or date of video. We write our own stories based on our own newsgathering (including text and still photographs). When we use another source for information, we must identify that source. We do not lift sections of copy from other news sources, Web sites or online encyclopedias.

• We must issue corrections promptly to subscribers.
• Whenever possible, we should run video in a natural state. In some circumstances, sections of video must be pixillated for legal reasons. If we do this, our scripts should state why.

• Reuters Television journalists must take great care to avoid any actual or perceived conflicts of interest. They must not work for, or be associated with - even in their private lives - business, political, journalistic or military groups which might impact their duties or the perception that they are impartial. Employees are bound by Reuters rules on share holdings in companies they might be required to report on and it is the duty of the television journalist to alert their manager to any potential conflicts of interest.

• Reuters protects our sources of news and vigorously defends the integrity of our journalists. We do not divulge the sources of our content to officials and we resist handing over our raw video to governmental, police or military authorities unless the physical safety of our journalists is under immediate threat. Any requests or demands to hand over our material must be referred immediately to senior editorial management.

• We often have to deal with graphic, sexually explicit and other sensitive material. As an agency we are more likely than a broadcaster to lean on the side of distributing such material for the sake of historical accuracy and context and leave it to the discretion of subscribers as to what they put to air. In extreme circumstances, such as images of execution or torture or sexual scenes of a graphic nature, a senior editor must be consulted on the use or otherwise of the video.

• We must alert clients boldly in our scripts and slates that graphic or explicit content follows so they may take any measures they deem appropriate to shield their newsroom staff. We must also alert them that higher level discussion might be required in their own news services as to how to treat such material for their audiences. We should be conscious of the sensitivities of our own staff in dealing with such images, allowing those who think they may be impacted by the content to be removed from the process.

• It is not possible to predict or codify every ethical dilemma we might face as journalists. Different laws may also apply in different countries, such as in relation to the filming of children or secret filming. If you are in any doubt about a situation, you must refer the matter to higher editorial management.

Source: Handbook of Journalism Reuters, 1 July 2008.