Code of Ethics

 

 

Reporting on this site adheres insofar as possible to the code of ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists. To read that code, click here.

I say “insofar as possible” because a chafing point exists between this blog and that code. It may be found in the dictum “Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.”

The purest form of journalism serves nothing but the cause of public knowledge. It has no friends, no enemies and in the words of the late, great Los Angeles Times writer David Shaw, “It is a business like no other.”

Or in my words, it is half Cary Grant, half Aristotle.

So it is important for readers to understand that I write from the perspective of a conservationist whose core conviction is that water is a finite and endangered natural resource whose best management is paramount to the public interest. Noble as that may sound, it’s a bias.

That said, I do not belong to any conservationist group, be it a local garden club or the Sierra Club. This site accepts no advertising.

Anonymous sources: Any coward can gossip. My reporting only involves anonymous sources when I am satisfied that the informant has a compelling reason to guard their identity. Those instances are rare. Readers commenting on this site frequently use pseudonyms. Provided that their remarks are on point and fit to print, and they are not Trojan horses from the Spam-o-sphere, they will be published. 

In blog posts for this site I allow myself freedom to editorialize. Those instances are obvious. I do occasionally stray from the bounds of good taste. Those instances are obvious, too. The guiding principle of the work linked here is the As-It-Seemed-To-Me rule, whether I happened to have liked the facts or not.

Those who have complaints or corrections are urged to contact me at emily.green [at] mac.com. Mistakes or mis-representations will be corrected and those who point them out will be sincerely thanked.

Emily Green, Los Angeles, California

 

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