News
+++ coming up on 29 July, 2021
Conversation on Trustworthy Journalism as an Antidote to Disinformation
Led by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and its newly launched Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), the one-hour session will feature colleagues from prominent news organizations around the world sharing their experiences with JTI's web offer designed to identify and reward trustworthy news sources. more + registration
2 July, 2021
False story about decuplets was a low point for journalism: how to fix the damage
It is difficult to imagine a bigger journalistic disaster than the recent decuplets story by Pretoria News, based in South Africa’s capital city. But it may present an opportunity to think anew about what could be done to address journalism’s crisis of trust" – writes Franz Krüger for The Conversation and suggest to consider the JTI as a remedy. more
23 June, 2021
RTÉ NEWS FIRST TO SIGN UP NEW TO GLOBAL JOURNALISM TRUST INITIATIVE
RTÉ has underlined its commitment to trusted journalism with the announcement that it will be the first Irish media organisation to sign up to the global Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI). RTÉ News & Current Affairs are signing up to the JTI pledge and will begin using their online transparency tool, designed to promote trustworthy journalism. more
18 May, 2021
Launched on May 18, the JTI online platform represents new dawn for media integrity, transparency and sustainability
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) launches new web offer designed to identify and reward trustworthy news sources;
- Media outlets can use the online app to check, disclose and promote compliance of their editorial processes with best practices;
- The initiative represents a radical and innovative step forward in the battle against disinformation.
International non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announces today the public launch of its Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), a game-changing transparency tool designed to promote trustworthy journalism. At the core of the JTI is the self-assessment of media outlets to diagnose, optimize and promote the accuracy of their journalism, with the aim of building a healthier news ecosystem, identifying and rewarding reliable reporting and restoring audiences’ confidence in journalism at large. more
Strengthening Ethical Media Standards in Albania and Serbia
5 May, 2021 | AN EJN PROJECT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNESCO
The Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) is supporting the media partners in South East Europe and Turkey to conduct the ethical audits – a useful tool for ensuring sustainability and competitiveness in the digital age, as well as to avoid many issues that can stem from reckless reporting. In 2020 the EJN coached and mentored several media outlets from Albania and Serbia who have shown a strong commitment to ethical standards and procedures. Eight of them finalised the 150-questions-long JTI questionnaire. more
Explaining the global JTI movement, Olaf Steenfadt, the Project Director of the JTI at Reporters Without Borders(RSF), says that ”the road-testing of our JTI questionnaire in this region is an important and encouraging experience. We see already tangible improvements in editorial processes and external transparency of participating media outlets, which is clearly a win-win for everyone involved.”
In this 'Ethics in the News' Podcast, Olaf explains the importance of JTI and its results so far.
26 April, 2021
Case study: Exit.al and the Journalism Trust Initiative
In early 2020, Exit.al was approached to take part in the Journalism Trust Initiative. It was hot on the heels of the Albania government passing the first draft of a law that would essentially bring all online media under the direct control and supervision of the state. This was due to Prime Minister Edi Rama had belief that the majority of online media is unethical, slanderous, “trash”, and unprofessional.
The idea of conducting the audit seemed to be perfect timing. more
Archive
27 November, 2020
Road to transparent journalism: UNESCO is road-testing JTI in South-Easter Europe
UNESCO and its project partner, the Ethical Journalism Network, is supporting media outlets in South East Europe to perform a self-assessment exercise. It follows the professional standards and principles of the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) and can help qualify media outlets to become a part of the media community branded as recognising the standards and benchmarks for editorial quality and management. more
8 July, 2020
European Commission awards grant to support Reporters without borders’ Journalism Trust Initiative in Europe
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is pleased to announce the signature of a grant agreement with the European Commission to support the implementation of its ‘Journalism Trust Initiative’ (JTI) in Europe. more
14 September, 2019
Brexit divisions and angry social media discourse encourage tribal journalism where blind loyalty takes priority over facts
In an era of 'activist' newspapers, the need for a balanced approach has never been greater. more
5 September, 2019
Reporters Without Borders Announces $1.5M Gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to Support Transparency and Ethics in News and Media
Gift from craigslist founder’s foundation to facilitate implementation of Journalism Trust Initiative. more
9 August, 2019
What the heck is the Journalism Trust Initiative? And why should I care?
If you are reading this, you may have heard something about the Journalism Trust Initiative. Maybe you saw it on the agenda of the SPJ Excellence in Journalism conference. It’s hard keeping all these misinformation-fighting efforts straight, and the ground keeps shifting. more
18 July, 2019
It is up to journalists to define ‘trustworthy’ news
The initiatives to stop the spread of disinformation abound, but the phenomenon continues to rise. It not only undermines journalism, but also people’s trust in the media, resulting in the growing problem of news avoidance. What if journalists took matters in their own hands? That’s the goal of the Journalism Trust Initiative. more
2 July, 2019
RSF and partners launch a public consultation on the Journalism Trust Initiative
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and its partners AFP, EBU and GEN are pleased to announce the launch of a public consultation about their Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) on July 3rd. JTI aims at defining indicators for trustworthy journalism. Compliance with them is expected to provide tangible benefits for media outlets, big and small, and thus, support them to cater to a healthy information space at large. more
4 February, 2019
More than 100 media outlets and organizations are backing the Journalism Trust Initiative
The Journalism Trust Initiative, proposed and organized by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and its partners, EBU, AFP and GEN, is entering its decisive phase this week. The second out of four workshops under the European Committee for Standardization’s (CEN) rules will be hosted by UNESCO in its Paris headquarters on Tuesday, 5 February. more
28 November, 2018
Russian foreign minister criticizes RSF’s trustworthy journalism work
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) deplores Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s criticism of the Journalism Trust Initiative at a time when the defence of trustworthy journalism – meaning journalism that is free, independent and rigorous – is a major challenge for democratic societies and humankind as a whole. more
3 April, 2018
RSF and its partners unveil the Journalism Trust Initiative to combat Disinformation
An innovative media self-regulatory initiative designed to combat disinformation online – called the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) – was launched today by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and its partners Agence France Presse (AFP), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Global Editors Network (GEN). more