Ethics Policy

Preamble

We at The Scarlet & Black strive to be a reflection of our community, an important source of fact-based information, a leader when possible and to do this work so that faculty, staff, students and those interested in Grinnell have access to a true representation of our community.

We aim to never misrepresent who we are, nor the people whom we interview. We remain dedicated to providing honest coverage of events, trends and issues that affect Grinnell residents. We strive to balance the public’s need for information. It is against our practice to cause harm with inaccurate, incomplete or misleading reporting that does not include context that addresses the public’s right to know, and in any case of mistakes or misjudgment, we will denote and rectify any errors as quickly as possible.

We will not operate in conflicts of interest, but if it is unavoidable in news coverage, we will be transparent about that conflict and will note it in our published stories. For example, The S&B staff is represented by the Union for Grinnell Student Dining Workers, but we are dedicated to providing fair coverage of union events, including collective bargaining with Grinnell College. As a student newspaper on a small campus, reporting on issues in the community inevitably touches our own lives as students and members of that community, but we remain dedicated to accurate and fair coverage.

We respect the responsibility we hold, and we do not take lightly the influence we have by publishing about our community. Above all, we are dedicated to learning and improving our journalistic practices.

Additionally, we adhere in general to the principles outlined in the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, as well as the National Press Photographers Association. An abridged list can be found below:

Seek Truth and Report It

Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.

Journalists should:

Gather, update and correct information throughout the life of a news story.
Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.
Consider sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Reserve anonymity for sources who may face danger, retribution or other harm, and have information that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Explain why anonymity was granted.
Support the open and civil exchange of views.
Provide access to source material when it is relevant and appropriate.
Boldly tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience. Seek sources whose voices we seldom hear.
Avoid stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting.
Never plagiarize. Always attribute.

Minimize Harm

Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.

Journalists should:

Balance the public’s need for information against potential harm to an individual or individuals. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness.
Realize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than public figures and others who seek power, influence or attention, although that privacy may be forfeited when an individual enters a public space to make a public argument in order to affect public policy.
Consider the long-term implications of the extended reach and permanence of publication. Provide accurate and fair context, and updated and more complete information as appropriate.
Use heightened sensitivity when dealing with juveniles, victims of sex crimes and sources or subjects who are inexperienced or unable to give consent. Consider cultural differences in approach and treatment.

Act Independently

The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public.

Journalists should: Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose unavoidable conflicts.

Be Accountable and Transparent

Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public.

Journalists should:

Explain ethical choices and processes to audiences. Encourage a civil dialogue with the public about journalistic practices, coverage and news content.
Respond quickly to questions about accuracy, clarity and fairness.
Acknowledge mistakes and correct them promptly and prominently. Explain corrections and clarifications carefully and clearly.
Expose unethical conduct in journalism, including within their organizations.
Abide by the same high standards they expect of others.

Visual journalists operate as trustees of the public. Our primary role is to report visually on the significant events and varied viewpoints in our common world. Our primary goal is the faithful and comprehensive depiction of the subject at hand. As visual journalists, we have the responsibility to document society and to preserve its history through images.

Visual journalists and those who manage visual news productions are accountable for upholding the following standards in their daily work:

Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects.
Be complete, and provide context when photographing or recording subjects. Avoid stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize and work to avoid presenting one’s own biases in the work.
Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects, and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.
Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context. Do not manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.
Strive to be unobtrusive and humble in dealing with subjects.

A Note on Anonymity and Retracting Statements

The S&B will always privately verify the identity of anonymous sources prior to reporting. Anonymity of sources will only be granted in rare instances, and only when both of the following criteria are met.

There is a legitimate risk for the safety of a source if identifying information is included. This includes potential danger or threat of deportation from the United States.
A source has crucial information that cannot be obtained from another source.

Previously, The S&B has not granted requests to retroactively remove the identity of a source for the purposes of complete transparency on our reporting. However, due to increased deportation efforts by the U.S. government, those who themselves are at risk of expulsion from the country or who have immediate family who are at risk may not have been able to predict future situations that would alter the notion of giving informed consent at the time of publication. As such, in rare instances, someone previously identified in a news story may have a legitimate concern about being identified.

Our mission, which is to report an accurate account of events, trends, policies, personalities that affect the norm or our notion of the norm, requires leaning toward maintaining that accurate account without alteration. However, we will consider legitimate requests retroactively to remove identifying information for a source if:

There is a legitimate risk for the safety of a source if identifying information is included. This includes potential danger or threat of deportation in a capricious, disruptive manner without due process.
This does not include anything that could have been reasonably foreseen by the person at the time of consenting to an interview, such as harm to one’s career.

The decision to retroactively remove the name of a source will be made by an ethics committee consisting of The S&B Editors in Chief, The S&B’s professional advisor and two to four other people with backgrounds in the ethics of journalism and a vested interest in The S&B and Grinnell College. If we alter a story in any way after publication, an editor’s note will be added at the bottom of the story explaining the edits that we made and the reasoning behind them.

If you believe you meet the criteria to have identifying information from a past article removed, please contact [email protected].

Comments on Our Website or Social Media Accounts

These guidelines are designed to promote and welcome all views on our website and social media while allowing for disagreement.

We won’t tolerate comments that discriminate against others based on their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or any other identity.
We won’t tolerate comments that are pornographic or sexually explicit.
We won’t tolerate comments that violate others’ privacy.
We remove comments if we know them to be false.

We will not edit comments, but we reserve the right to remove them if they violate these guidelines.

S&B journalists should consider the same judgment and guidelines when commenting on S&B social media accounts as they would when posting on public personal social media accounts. S&B journalists should refrain from expressing an opinion or engaging in arguments or debates on public accounts or on our website and social media accounts.

Guidelines and Policy on AI Use

Artificial Intelligence continues to grow as an influential tool in the world of media. Before using AI, Scarlet & Black journalists must discuss with an editor the purpose and production of the AI-assisted content. Both Editors in Chief must also approve the use. If, in some rare cases, it is decided to use AI-assisted content in reporting, these are our guidelines.

Transparency and Accountability

If AI is used in any way in reporting, journalists must disclose that AI was used, the AI platform that was used and inform readers of the limitations of AI.
AI cannot be treated as factual or used as a source. AI can be used for ideas or for help generating ideas, but content must be checked for validity and confirmed with a source.
Journalists must check that their reporting generated or assisted by AI is fair, accurate and does not contribute to misinformation.
If any errors or inaccuracies from AI-generated or assisted content arise, journalists must be accountable and correct these errors.

Visual AI

AI-visually generated images or video will never accurately represent a real-world moment. They are also much harder to regulate and check for accuracy than written content. News coverage at The Scarlet & Black will never use AI-generated images or video.
Other visual content, such as graphics, page designs or illustrations may be used, but must, like written content, be approved by an editor and the Editors in Chief while also following all of these guidelines.

Bias and Discrimination

At The Scarlet & Black, we seek to acknowledge and be aware of any potential biases in our reporting. Journalists must also account for bias in AI-assisted content. They must ensure that the content does not discriminate against an individual or group based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or any other identity.
If using AI content, journalists must still seek to be inclusive and diverse in their reporting.

These guidelines will be revised as needed as the ethics of AI continue to evolve.

First published on April 10, 2023 at 7:45 a.m. Last updated on February 2, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.