Mass Media staff members and contributors must recuse themselves from any coverage to which they or a close friend or family member have a personal or financial relationship which could reasonably constitute a conflict of interest. Writers must inform their section editor and the editor in chief of any conflicts prior to accepting the assignment.
This policy applies equally to everyone who writes for The Mass Media. Contributors should disclose any conflicts at the time they submit a pitch or article. Failure to disclose a conflict may result in a public retraction and ban from submitting future submissions.
Mass Media staffers may not write about any club, organization or movement with which they are personally affiliated, whether as a volunteer, paid employee, leader, member or otherwise. Staffers are expected to disclose these affiliations before starting work on any conflicting assignment.
Writers are not required to disclose their political affiliations; however, writers who cover politics may not report on campaigns, parties or political action committees for which they work, volunteer or contribute money. (For example, someone involved in the Elizabeth Warren campaign must disclose their involvement before writing an article about an election Warren is running in.)
Writers may write about events they attended as participants — provided that their participation is properly disclosed and is necessary for the coverage, such as an opinion or participation feature — but not events they were involved in creating, promoting or organizing. Writers who attend an event for the purpose of news coverage may not participate in it.
Mass Media staffers may not accept any gift from any source, agency, corporation, or other entity that is likely to feature in their or The Mass Media’s coverage, regardless of the giver’s intent. For purposes of this policy, ****a gift is defined as any service or item of value provided for free or at a discount that is not available to the general public. Staffers are expected disclose the gift to their editor before politely refusing, donating to charity, or disposing of it.
Regardless of source, staffers may accept free or discounted tickets, passes and merchandise only if it is necessary for their coverage. The Mass Media can provide any ticket available in the Student Activities Office, at the discretion of the staff advisor and the editor in chief.
The Mass Media will not agree to accept any such items with the expectation that they write positive coverage, or on the condition that the subject be allowed to review or approve our coverage prior to publication.
Failure to publish coverage after accepting free or discounted items on that condition will result in a disciplinary meeting with the staff advisor, potential termination from employment, and returning or paying in full for the accepted item.
Mass Media staffers shall not hold a financial interest (including through immediate family members) in companies that are likely to be relevant to coverage they are regularly involved in, including stocks or other securities. Staff members remain free to invest in diversified investments that they cannot control, such as mutual funds or money markets, treasury bills or investment-grade bonds.
Staff members may not buy or sell securities or make other investments in anticipation of coverage that originates with The Mass Media. In general, staff members may not act on such information until 24 hours have passed from the time of publication. This restriction does not apply to public information that is first published by other sources.
Staffers who are temporarily assigned to cover an industry in which they hold financial interest must disclose that interest to their section editor and the editor in chief before accepting the assignment. In many cases, work on the assignment may proceed, but the staff member may not buy or sell the conflicting security until two weeks after publication. Reporters who are permanently reassigned to cover an industry in which they hold a financial interest must divest or accept a different assignment.