This critical role endows the media with its own power, which, when used irresponsibly, can threaten a free society. In many nations, the government takes on the role of primary regulator of the media. In the United States, our solution has been to rely on market forces, competition, responsibility, and a highly evolved set of self-controls that we call journalism ethics. Broadcast media and the Internet have created a new set of challenges that are on occasion addressed in the United States in a governmental regulatory framework, but always in the context of basic constitutional principles and protections of our free press.
Journalists everywhere have a vital role to provide the public with knowledge and understanding.
But as they practice their craft in a world that is both technologically and geographically changing, systematic standards must guide their work. Only in that way will journalists serve their society in an ethically responsible and constructive fashion. This site is produced and maintained by the American Information Resource Center at the U.S. Consulate in Krakow. Links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein.