Editorial Standards

Tasmanian Inquirer  will meet Australian Press Council standards. The founders are all members of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and are bound by the MEAA code of ethics.

MEAA members engaged in journalism commit themselves to: honesty, fairness, independence and respect for the rights of others.

MEAA members are obliged to apply the following standards:
• Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts. Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis. Do your utmost to give a fair opportunity for reply.
• Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.
• Aim to attribute information to its source. Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without first considering the source’s motives and any alternative attributable source. Where confidences are accepted, respect them in all circumstances.
• Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence.
• Disclose conflicts of interest that affect, or could be seen to affect, the accuracy, fairness or independence of your journalism. Do not improperly use a journalistic position for personal gain.
• Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.
• Do your utmost to ensure disclosure of any direct or indirect payment made for interviews, pictures, information or stories.
• Use fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material. Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast. Never exploit a person’s vulnerability or ignorance of media practice.
• Present pictures and sound which are true and accurate. Any manipulation likely to mislead should be disclosed.
• Do not plagiarise.
• Respect private grief and personal privacy. Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.
• Do your utmost to achieve fair correction of errors.

Guidance Clause: Basic values often need interpretation and sometimes come into conflict. Ethical journalism requires conscientious decision-making in context. Only substantial advancement of the public interest or risk of substantial harm to people allows any standard to be overridden.

Complaints

Tasmanian Inquirer encourages any readers with a concern or complaint in the first instance to utilise the link at the foot of the relevant article. The form from that link will go direct to the author with a copy to the site administrator. Each author profile page also has one or more points of contact.

Tasmanian Inquirer aims to address all concerns or complaints promptly and correct any errors or omissions, and where appropriate append a note at the foot of the article.

Where complaints can’t be resolved by mutual agreement, readers can lodge a complaint against the author with the MEAA. The link to the MEAA’s complaint form is here.

Funding

In line with the recommendation of the Public Interest Journalism Foundation, all donations over $1000 will be publicly disclosed.

In July 2020, the Walkley Foundation provided funding to Bob Burton from its Walkley Grants for Freelance Journalism on Regional Australia program to produce a series of articles, “Who pays the piper?” The series will be published in Tasmanian Inquirer and will be identified with a Walkley Foundation logo and credit.

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