Code of Integrity

WYSU-FM Endorses the Public Media Code of Ethics

An up-to-date copy of this code can be found on the Public Media Code of Integrity website: www.codeofintegrity.org.

Public

broadcasters have adopted shared principles to strengthen the trust and

integrity that communities expect of valued public service

institutions.

Public media organizations contribute to a strong

civil society and active community life, provide access to knowledge and

culture, extend education, and offer varied viewpoints and

sensibilities.

The freedom of public media professionals to make

editorial decisions without undue influence is essential. It is rooted

in America's commitment to free speech and a free press. It is reflected

in the unique and critical media roles that federal, state, and local

leaders have encouraged and respected across the years. It is affirmed

by the courts.

Trust is equally fundamental. Public media

organizations create and reinforce trust through rigorous, voluntary

standards for the integrity of programming and services, fundraising,

community interactions, and organizational governance.

These

standards of integrity apply to all the content public media

organizations produce and present, regardless of subject matter,

including news, science, history, information, music, arts, and culture.

These standards apply across all public media channels and platforms -

broadcasting, online, social media, print, media devices, and in-person

events.

Public media, individually and collectively:

• Contribute

  to communities' civic, educational, and cultural life by presenting a

  range of ideas and cultures and offering a robust forum for discussion

  and debate.

• Commit to accuracy and integrity in the pursuit of

  facts about events, issues, and important matters that affect

  communities and people's lives.

• Pursue fairness and

  responsiveness in content and services, with particular attention to

  reflecting diversity of demography, culture, and beliefs.

• Aim

  for transparency in news gathering, reporting, and other content

  creation and share the reasons for important editorial and programming

  choices.

• Protect the editorial process from the fact and

  appearance of undue influence, exercising care in seeking and accepting

  funds and setting careful boundaries between contributors and content

  creators.

• Encourage understanding of fundraising operations and

  practices, acknowledge program sponsors, and disclose content-related

  terms of sponsor support.

• Maintain respectful and accountable relationships with individual and organizational contributors.

• Seek

  editorial partnerships and collaborations to enhance capacity,

  perspective, timeliness, and relevance and apply public media standards

  to these arrangements.

• Expect employees to uphold public media's

  integrity in their personal as well as their professional lives,

  understanding that employee actions, even when "off the clock," affect

  trust, integrity, credibility, and impartiality.

• Promote the

  common good, the public interest, and these commitments to integrity and

  trustworthiness in organizational governance, leadership, and

  management.

The Public Media Code of Integrity was developed

by the Affinity Group Coalition and the Station Resource Group,

collectively representing public television and radio stations and

service organizations from across the country, with support from the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

September 2013