The most popular subject in these codes is conflict of interest, which includes issues ranging from accepting gifts and travel junkets to political involvement and community activity. About half of the codes we examined deal with the subjects of sources and matters of manipulation of photographs. Fewer deal with corrections and plagiarism. Missing from many codes are standards or discussion of privacy, deception, identification of juvenile suspects, and racial stereotyping. Fewer than one in five codes address the subject of tensions between the editorial and advertising departments.
Many codes ignore the subject of enforcement.
These 33 codes also vary greatly in length. The Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia, weighs in with some 8,000 words, while The Arizona Republic , Phoenix, among others, is a comparatively pithy 500 words. This was not a random sample, since these were voluntary submissions to a general call. However, these codes reflect the various ways American newspapers address matters of ethics. A good newspaper code promotes ethical thought and behavior within the newspaper, showing newcomers where the landmines are and reminding veterans of the newsroom's values and norms.