Ethics Policy

Ethics policy for CDM, news you need to know RIGHT NOW in the U.S. and in high-interest regions around the world.

• Our journalists should not express opinions at all and should work to ensure that stories are neutral, not reflecting bias toward any position. Exceptions are made for journalists whose jobs specifically involve expressing opinions, such as editorial writers, columnists, commentators and cartoonists.
• Our reporters may express personal opinions in their own accounts on social networks.
• We encourage our journalists to express opinions about journalism matters, advocating for freedom of information and joining the conversation within the profession about important issues.
• Our journalists, salespeople and executives work to ensure that advertisers, sponsors and contributors have no influence over editorial content.
• Our journalists should avoid political involvement such as running for or holding office, joining political parties, volunteering in campaigns, serving on community boards, donating to campaigns or displaying campaign materials on their property or persons.
• If a family member’s political involvement would call into question the integrity of a journalist’s coverage, the journalist should avoid coverage of that issue or campaign. If avoiding such a family conflict is impossible, the family member’s involvement should be disclosed in related coverage.
• Our journalists should avoid community involvement in areas that they cover. Journalists should tell their supervisors about their community involvement. When they have to cover an area where they have a personal involvement, we should consider assigning another journalist. If a conflict can’t be avoided, coverage should disclose the conflict.
• Our journalists should disclose community and political involvements, particularly those involving topics they might cover, both in general statements we will publish on our website and in stories relating to their involvements.
• We encourage involvement in the community, politics and the issues we cover, but we disclose these involvements in our coverage.
• Despite our organization’s involvement in the issues we cover, we should provide factual coverage in a neutral voice. We should disclose our affiliation for transparency reasons, but the affiliation should not be evident from a promotional voice or content.