The notion of objectivity and balance as fundamental to ethical journalism has been well discussed in these pages. But what happens when federal law mandates those principles?

Such is the case with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is required under its 1967 charter to develop programming “with strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.”

Needless to say, CPB has been under constant criticism from detractors on the right and the left for failing to live up to its mandate. In 2005, CPB’s Inspector General reported that the Corporation lacked definitive policies and procedures for reviewing its programming for objectivity and balance. As a result of this report, CPB commissioned a series of White Papers to deal exclusively with this issue. (For complete copies of those White Papers, please visit CPB.org). My White Paper was titled “Objectivity and Balance: Today’s Best Practices in American Journalism.”

As part of this study, my research assistants and I undertook a comprehensive survey sent to program directors and news directors of both public broadcasting outlets as well as commercial broadcasters. While the results of those surveys are available in the White Paper, it is the “best practices” section that has the most relevance here.

That is because regardless of how one defines objectivity and balance or the role it continues to play in both the teaching and practice of journalism, this pursuit of attempting to achieve objectivity and balance is a worthwhile goal.

Thus, through interviews with ombudsmen, professional journalists, news directors and academics, we were able to come up with a list of 13 “best practices” that one can use in any news organization—public or private—to help build a roadmap towards a commitment to objectivity and balance.  While this list is by no means complete, a useful class exercise would be for you and your students to determine other methods by which to improve the practice of ethical journalism.

The following is our list of “best practices” followed by a brief description of each.  Again, a fuller description of each best practice can be found in the complete White Paper online.

1. Transparency: Readers and viewers deserve to know how stories are reported and written or produced. Journalists should be willing—even eager—to share with their audience what information and facts were included in a story as well as the information and facts that were excluded.

2. Ombudsmen: This is the single best tool news organizations have developed to give the public a voice and someone to complain to when they believe a story is unfair. Unfortunately with recent budget cuts, ombudsmen are among the first to go.

3. Staff to Monitor Complaints: The Ombudsman should really be a last resort. News organizations should have staffers willing and able to answer and investigate any complaints regarding objectivity and balance or any ethical inquiry.

4. Training, particularly mid-career training: Most journalism school graduates understand the ethical guidelines that undergird the profession’s search for truth. But not all journalists go to journalism schools and some don’t take ethics courses. Mid-career training on ethics should be required.

5. Mentoring and Coaching: Journalism can be a lonely profession so each newsroom should ensure that all journalists have both mentors and coaches—experienced people to talk about all sorts of ethical decision-making including issues of balance and objectivity.

6. Bring in the Stars: Because of budget cuts, sending newsroom staffers to conferences or other training sessions may prove problematic. But every news organization should think about annually bringing in a prominent journalist who can discuss the nuts and bolts of the profession, including ethical decision-making.

7. Bring in the Cranks: At least a couple of time each year try to bring in your most vocal critics and have them talk face to face with newsroom staff. Complaints of lack of balance or a lack of ethics can be greatly mitigated with a frank discussion of the issues.

8. Public Outreach: Don’t just bring in your critics; bring in members of the general public so they can see the news being made and how decisions are arrived at. 

9. Monitor the news/programming: Do an occasional content analysis of the organization’s product. It is in this area that journalism schools and communications scholars can really assist the news organization by having an outside entity with no perceived bias conduct the analysis.

10. Monitor/Disclose Conflicts of Interest: Oftentimes, the greatest complaints about a news organization’s lack of balance or ethics stems from what outsiders perceive as hidden conflicts of interest or hidden bias. Sometimes such complaints show the bias of those making the allegations more than the journalist's, but the least any news organization should do is regularly disclose any and all possible conflicts.

11. Viewers’ Bill of Rights: A concept developed by WFTX-TV news director Forrest Carr, this is posted on the station’s Web site and ensures that, among other things, all viewer complaints go directly to management and are dealt with in a timely manner.

12. Standards Editor: An internal editor charged with making sure the news organization does not make any ethical mistakes. Unlike ombudsmen, who can only correct problems after they happen, a standards editor reviews everything before it is published or broadcast.

13. Online Resources: One of the beauties of the New Media world is that is gives news organizations all sorts of ways to deal with questions of ethics or objectivity. The Internet gives every news organization unlimited space to provide context, documentation, critiques, etc. so that the age-old reason that material was cut out of a story because there was no more room, is gone.

How many existing news organizations engage in any of these best practices?  In truth, with personnel cutbacks and revenue shortfalls at so many media companies, few continue to devote the necessary resources to engage in most of these recommended activities.  For example, late last year the Louisville Courier-Journal eliminated its ombudsman position. The newspaper was the first news organization in the U.S. to create the position 40 years ago. The Virginian-Pilot, which has had an ombudsman for 34 years, eliminated that position at the end of 2008.

Few other news organizations will now devote the necessary resources to send its employees to mid-career training, hire a standards editor or pay for journalistic stars to visit the newsroom. Yet most of the suggestions in best practices cost little or no money. Instead, they represent an attitude—an attitude of ethical decision-making when it comes to portraying the news in a balanced and objective matter.

As such, it will be up to your students as future professional journalists to ensure that the news organizations they join engage in these best practices.

Joel Kaplan is the Associate Dean for professional graduate programs at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Prior to his academic career he was an investigative reporter at the Chicago Tribune and the Tennessean.