Journalistic ethics and covid-19: An analysis of deontological codes

Abstract

This article presents the results of a content analysis of 103 journalistic codes of ethics throughout the world conducted to test the adaptation of these codes to Covid-19 pandemic. Based on seven recommendations formulated by the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), we analyze the presence or absence of each principle. The findings show an uneven presence of the principles and important differences across the codes. None of the codes cover the seven recommendations and just one addressed six of them. In contrast, 17 codes contain only one recommendation and two do not contain any. The EJN recommendations that are most present in the codes address well-established principles in journalistic ethics. The year of the latest update of the code is also a determining factor. Specific sections on health should be incorporated into the codes.