Journalistic Code of Ethics

Preamble

The freedom of opinion, expression, and the press is a fundamental human right protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A free press is an essential means for society to obtain information and communicate, fulfilling fundamental needs and enhancing the quality of human life. In exercising this freedom, Indonesian journalists recognize their duty to the nation’s interests, social responsibility, societal diversity, and religious norms.

In performing its function, rights, obligations, and role, the press respects the human rights of every person. Consequently, the press must operate professionally and be open to public scrutiny.

To guarantee press freedom and fulfill the public’s right to correct information, Indonesian journalists require a moral and professional ethical foundation. This code serves as an operational guideline to maintain public trust and uphold integrity and professionalism. Based on this, Hey Bali News adheres to and enforces the following Journalistic Code of Ethics:

Article 1: Independence, Accuracy, Balance, and Good Faith
Indonesian journalists shall be independent, producing news that is accurate, balanced, and without ill intent.

• Interpretation:
  • Independent means reporting events or facts according to one’s conscience, free from interference, coercion, or intervention by any party, including media owners.
  • Accurate means trustworthy and true to the objective circumstances at the time the event occurred.
  • Balanced means all parties receive equitable opportunity to be heard.
  • Without ill intent means there is no deliberate and sole intention to harm another party.

Article 2: Professional Methods
Indonesian journalists shall employ professional methods in executing their journalistic duties.

• Interpretation: Professional methods include:
  • Identifying oneself to sources.
  • Respecting the right to privacy.
  • Refraining from bribery.
  • Producing factual news with clear attribution.
  • Clearly labeling any manipulated images, photos, or audio, stating the source, and presenting them in a balanced context.
  • Respecting the traumatic experiences of sources when presenting images, photos, or audio.
  • Avoiding plagiarism, including presenting the work of other journalists as one’s own.
  • Certain methods may be considered for investigative reporting in the public interest.

Article 3: Verification, Balance, and Presumption of Innocence
Indonesian journalists must always verify information, report in a balanced manner, avoid conflating facts with judgmental opinions, and apply the principle of presumption of innocence.

• Interpretation:
  • Verify information means to check and recheck the truth of that information.
  • Balanced means providing proportional space or airtime to each side.
  • Judgmental opinion is the personal view of the journalist, which differs from interpretive opinion, which is a journalist’s interpretation of facts.
  • Presumption of innocence is the principle of not judging someone guilty before a legal verdict.

Article 4: Prohibition of False, Defamatory, Sadistic, and Obscene News
Indonesian journalists shall not produce false, defamatory, sadistic, or obscene news.

• Interpretation:
  • False means something the journalist knows beforehand does not correspond with the facts.
  • Defamatory means a deliberate, baseless accusation made with malicious intent.
  • Sadistic means cruel and without mercy.
  • Obscene means the erotic depiction of behavior through photos, images, audio, graphics, or text solely intended to arousal.
  • When using archived images or audio, the date of capture must be cited.

Article 5: Protection of Vulnerable Identities
Indonesian journalists shall not disclose the identity of victims of sexual crimes and shall not identify minors who are perpetrators of crimes.

• Interpretation:
  • Identity includes all data and information relating to a person that makes them easily traceable.
  • A minor is a person under the age of 16 who is unmarried.

Article 6: Non-Abuse of Profession and Anti-Bribery
Indonesian journalists shall not abuse their profession or accept bribes.

• Interpretation:
  • Abuse of profession includes any action that takes personal advantage of information obtained while on duty, before that information becomes public knowledge.
  • Bribe includes any offering of money, goods, or facilities from another party that influences independence.

Article 7: Right to Refuse, Embargo, and Confidentiality
Indonesian journalists uphold the right to refuse to disclose sources, and respect agreements of embargo, background information, and “off the record.”

• Interpretation:
  • Right to refuse is the right not to reveal the identity and whereabouts of a source for their safety and that of their family.
  • Embargo is the delayed publication or broadcast of news at the request of the source.
  • Background information is any information or data from a source that may be published without attribution.
  • Off the record is any information or data from a source that must not be published or broadcast.

Article 8: Non-Discrimination
Indonesian journalists shall not write or broadcast news based on prejudice or discrimination against anyone based on ethnicity, race, skin color, religion, gender, or language, and shall not demean the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, or those with mental or physical disabilities.

• Interpretation:
  • Prejudice is a preconceived notion about something before knowing the facts clearly.
  • Discrimination is differential treatment.

Article 9: Respect for Privacy
Indonesian journalists shall respect the private life of sources, except for the public interest.

• Interpretation:
  • Respecting the right of sources entails exercising restraint and caution.
  • Private life encompasses all aspects of an individual’s and their family’s life not related to the public interest.

Article 10: Rectification of Errors
Indonesian journalists must promptly retract, correct, and amend news that is incorrect or inaccurate, accompanied by an apology to readers, listeners, and/or viewers.

• Interpretation:
  • Promptly means action as soon as possible, whether prompted by external complaint or not.
  • An apology shall be issued if the error relates to a key substantive point.

Article 11: Right of Reply and Correction
Indonesian journalists shall honor the right of reply and the right of correction proportionally.

• Interpretation:
  • Right of reply is the right of a person or group to respond to or rebut factual reporting that damages their reputation.
  • Right of correction is the right of any person to correct erroneous information reported by the press, concerning themselves or others.
  • Proportionally means equal to the part of the news that needs correction.

Enforcement
Final assessment regarding violations of this Journalistic Code of Ethics is the responsibility of the Press Council. Sanctions for violations are administered by journalist organizations and/or press companies.

*This code is based on the Indonesian Journalistic Code of Ethics established by the Press Council (Peraturan Dewan Pers Nomor: 6/Peraturan-DP/V/2008).*