<P> All of these guidelines are important because the press is needed to maintain a neutral viewpoint, providing the basic facts and allowing for readers to come up with their own opinions from the news that they report . </P> <P> These guidelines inspired Society of Professional Journalists which is the current version of media ethics that were adopted n 1996 . </P> <P> The Society of Professional Journalists created a code of ethics that are in effect today . The main mantra of the code is "Seek truth and Report it!" (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) The code also states that: "Journalists should be honest, fair, and courageous in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information . Journalists should:" </P> <Ul> <Li> "Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error . Deliberate distortion is never permissible ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Identify sources whenever feasible . The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Always question sources' motives before promising anonymity . Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information . Keep promises ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Make certain that headlines, news teases, and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites, and quotations do not misrepresent . They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Never distort the content of news photos or video . Image enhancement for technical clarity is always permissible . Label montages and photo illustrations ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Avoid misleading reenactments or staged news events . If reenactment is necessary to tell a story, label it ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public . Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Never plagiarize ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience boldly, even, when it is unpopular to do so ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing on those values on others ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, or social status ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting . Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or content ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Distinguish news from advertising, and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> <Li> "Recognize and special obligation to ensure that the public's business is conducted in the open and that government records are open to inspection ." (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, Pg 478) </Li> </Ul>

Who holds journalists responsible for the code of ethics