The role of a common language in determining ethical approaches in journalism

Standaert, Olivier [UCL]

In this paper, the ethical beliefs held by French speaking journalists will be considered in a comparative context. After presenting the results for French journalists based on the Worlds of journalism survey, the outcome will be compared to other French speaking journalists who are in a minority in their country, such as the French speaking journalists from Switzerland, Belgium and Canada. This comparison, for example on questions about the use of hidden cameras and microphones, paying people for confidential information or accepting money from sources etc., shows surprising similarities. It could be inferred that the journalists’ common language plays a role in developing common ethical approaches of journalism. We could further assume that international codes such as the Munich declaration of the rights and duties of journalists combined with more local sources, influences and references, circulate in homogeneous linguistic spaces. But a further comparison with other language communities of the three countries considered tends to prove that the French particularity is smaller than firstly thought.