Yardsticks and Principles

The most basic guidelines of all journalism are the 9 principles and 7 yardsticks of journalism. Journalists are expected to follow these principles and yardsticks in everything they do in order to be credible and considered a "good journalist."

The first principle is truth. Telling the truth is a journalist's first obligation.
The second principle is loyalty. A journalists loyalty isn't to their boss, customers, or audience, but is to the citizens. Journalists must always choose the people.
The third principle is verification. Verification is the absolute essential discipline in the world of journalism. A good journalist should have multiple sources and is encouraged to use witnesses as sources if they are available.
The forth principle is independence- of spirit and mind that is. A good journalist avoids devotion
The fifth principle and my favorite is watchdog- keeping an eye on those in power. The courts recognize this and the citizens rely on it. It is not only our right but it is also our obligation to be responsible enough to use this principle correctly by not exploiting it for their own well being.
The sixth principle is forum. Without a forum the audience would have no way of criticizing the journalism piece thus enabling the journalist to make the same mistake twice or more.
The seventh principle is make the important interesting. I know we've all seen that one news station that blows every unnecessary thing out of porportion and leves like ten seconds at the end of the show to break the news of something that actually matters. That news station would be an example of a media not following this principle.
The eighth principle is inclusive. In my opinion inclusive can kinda fit in with the most recent principle. Being inclusive means giving every detail the appropriate amount of emphasis. if a detail doesn't have an appropriate amount then it should not be shared.
The ninth principle is room for dissent. This means speaking up for what you think is right. Im sure we've all seen that one poster that says, "Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it and right is right even if no one is doing it." That quote is pretty much this principle in a nutshell.

The first yardstick of journalism is newsworthiness. Basically what this means is, if people don't care about something don't make them suffer and listen to an hour long report on it.
The second yardstick of journalism is context. Sources are important. In order to get the full accurate story you must get all sides of the story. If your reports are consistently under-sourced people are likely to stop reading/ listening to them.
The third yardstick is explanation. Instead of focusing on one tiny detail that just blows your mind, a good journalist should step back and take a look at the whole event and then analyze how important each detail is to this event, thus putting the importance on the story itself and not just one aspect of it.
The forth yardstick is local relevance. This is most likely where the phrase "what does that have to do with the price of tea in china" is derived from. So if news station in Texas reported about an abandoned puppy from Michigan that was adopted by somebody hours before it was supposed to be put down they would be violating local relevance. I mean sure the story is cute and all but how does that affect the citizens in Texas in any way shape or form?
The fifth yardstick is civic contribution. The principle equal of civic contribution is watch dog with an exception. That exception being that civic contribution is keeping an eye on people in the government while watch dog is keeping an eye on anyone with power.
The sixth yardstick is Enterprise. Enterprise is looking at how efficient reporters are in getting the hottest stories. Someone who gets the breaking news every time is going to have a better measure of enterprise than that journalist who hasn't had a breaking story in over a year.
The seventh yardstick is fairness. In fairness journalists are expected to get more than just one side of the story. A journalist who follows fairness doesn't just take someones word for it. They chase it until they find another source that matches the controversy.