Join tonight’s #spjchat about updating journalism code of ethics

Update: The chat is finished. If you didn’t join us, read the replay below, or the Storify summary.

I am pleased that my blog post last November, calling for an update of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, has stimulated a discussion about journalism ethics in the digital age.

Tonight, Kevin Smith, chair of the SPJ Ethics Committee, and I will lead a Twitter chat (#spjchat), starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time, about whether SPJ should update the Code. Mike Reilley of DePaul University organized the chat and will moderate.

The debate is also on the cover of the April issue of Quill, SPJ’s magazine. I make the case for an update, opposed by former SPJ President Irwin Gratz.

I will pull #spjchat tweets into the liveblog linked below, if you’d rather follow it there than on Twitter (or if you miss the chat):

#spjchat liveblog

Some other posts I have written on journalism ethics:

• Posts on the newsroom social media policies of the Guardian, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Roanoke Times, New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.
• Journalism ethics guidance from a great teacher, Phil Record
• My version of Craig Silverman’s accuracy checklist
• Craig Silverman’s accuracy podcast and slides
• Craig Silverman shares excellent advice on accuracy, verification and preventing errors
• Tips on verifying facts and ensuring accuracy
• Power and eagerness should guide reporters’ confidentiality decisions
• Reporters need to stop trading silence for access
• Ethics outrage at the Washington Post
• I lifted (but attributed) most of this post on plagiarism
• Humanity is more important and honest than objectivity for journalists
• Some journalists get uncomfortable with the transparency they want from everyone else
• Objectivity and neutrality aren’t the only ways to protect journalists’ credibility
• Resources for journalism ethics (with lots of links, but some of them are outdated)
• Accuracy is more important than ever for journalists
• Community involvement poses ethical challenges for journalists
• Journalists shouldn’t hide behind a mask
• Avoiding ethical conflicts in small towns
• The heart: one of journalism’s best tools
• Bad judgment doesn’t taint the platform
• Journalism ethics in social networks
• When does sloppy attribution become plagiarism?
• Lessons for journalists in tragic stories
• Remember the old editor’s advice: Check it out
• Don’t let partisans dictate our terms
• Unnamed sources should have unpublished opinions
• Journalists need to acknowledge our trauma
• Let’s be skeptical of named sources, too