Ethics Is Not a Rule Book. It Is a Daily Choice.

The SPJ Code of Ethics just turned 100 and received its first update since 2014. Dr. Dan Axelrod, the chair of the committee that revised it, joined Humanity in Journalism to talk about what changed, why it matters, and what the data from more than 9,000 analyzed articles suggests about journalism when ethics is present.

Most people who read the news every day have never heard of the SPJ Code of Ethics. Dan Axelrod thinks that is part of the problem.

In the latest episode of the Humanity in Journalism podcast, Axelrod, the Society of Professional Journalists Chair of its Ethics Committee and co-chair of its Code Revision Subcommittee, sits down with host Jessica Wiederhorn to discuss the code's sixth revision in its 100-year history. The update is the first major revision since 2014 and was developed with input from more than 700 people, including more than 350 members of the public and more than 350 journalists, editors, and journalism educators, per Axelrod's account in the episode. Per the SPJ, the revised code is available at spj.org/ethics.

The revision adds six new standards to the code. As Axelrod describes them in the episode, the additions direct journalists to: verify the provenance and authenticity of all methods, sources, and technology used to produce news; identify misinformation and disinformation, challenge provable falsehoods, and avoid false equivalence; diligently provide fair opportunity for subjects of coverage to respond to criticism or allegations of wrongdoing; respect the presumption of innocence while a criminal case is being resolved; disclose and seek to lessen the effect of unavoidable conflicts; and prominently label sponsored content and partnerships. The full revised text is available at spj.org/ethics.

"What makes us different, not only as humans but as a society, is ethical storytelling," Axelrod says in the episode. "And why not do it ethically while we're doing it?"

Listen:  "Ethics in Journalism: A Conversation with the Man Who Helped Rewrite the Code" is available now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify at humanityinjournalism.com

A Standard That Matters More Than Ever

The backdrop to the revision is a documented collapse in public trust in news. Per Gallup's September 2025 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults (news.gallup.com, October 2, 2025), just 28 percent of Americans express a great deal or fair amount of trust in newspapers, television, and radio to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. That figure represents a record low in Gallup's tracking of media trust, the first time the measure has fallen below 30 percent. By contrast, when Gallup began measuring media trust in the 1970s, between 68 and 72 percent of Americans expressed confidence in reporting. The most recent 2026 Gallup survey found a modest uptick to 33 percent, though roughly two-thirds of Americans still report little or no confidence in the media (newspapers.org, October 2026).

Axelrod attributes part of that decline to economic forces that have reshaped newsrooms: the collapse of print advertising revenue after 2006, the cutting of veteran journalists, and the replacement of original reporting with cheaper opinion and commentary. He frames the code not as a response to bad faith but as a tool for professionals operating under structural pressures that make ethical shortcuts tempting and visible.

"Whether you're a Republican, a libertarian, a Democrat — regardless of race, color, creed, religion, politics — I'm going to voraciously verify, investigate, and build this scaffolding of facts to support either my news account, my analysis, or my opinion piece." — Dr. Dan Axelrod, Humanity in Journalism, October 19, 2026

Opinion Journalism Is Not Exempt. It Is Held to a Higher Standard.

One of the episode's most direct arguments concerns the ethical obligations of opinion journalism. Axelrod argues that opinion writers carry every obligation a news reporter does, and then one more: they must persuade. That, he says, requires more rigor, not less.

A well-reported opinion piece, in his framing, builds a verifiable scaffolding of facts before making its argument. An opinion piece that skips that work is commentary without foundation. As Axelrod describes it in the episode, the addition of false equivalence language to the revised code addresses a related failure: it is not enough to present two sides and juxtapose them. The journalist must evaluate which side the evidence supports.

Wiederhorn and Axelrod also discuss the confusion many readers have between news, analysis, and opinion — a distinction the revised code addresses through its transparency requirements. As Axelrod notes, per data cited by his committee colleague Lynn Walsh, assistant director of Trusting News, the single most common public complaint about media is that a story was biased — and when Walsh unpacks those complaints, they are as often about opinion pieces as about straight news reporting.

What the Data Shows

A recurring theme in the episode is the relationship between ethical alignment and editorial quality. The Media Integrity Project reports having analyzed more than 9,000 articles using ReporterLens, which evaluates structural alignment with the SPJ Code of Ethics across 17 weighted metrics. The full methodology is publicly available at reporterlens.app/methodology. Per that methodology, articles scoring higher on ethical alignment also score higher on overall structural quality metrics tracked by the tool.

Wiederhorn summarizes the project's finding this way in the episode: "After analyzing more than 9,000 articles, one thing holds without exception. When ethics is present, so is excellence." That is her characterization of the ReporterLens data as she described it on October 19, 2026. Readers who wish to evaluate that claim independently can access the ReporterLens methodology at reporterlens.app/methodology and run any article through the tool, free and without login, at reporterlens.app.

 

What This Episode Covers

This is a wide-ranging conversation. In the full episode, Axelrod and Wiederhorn explore:

•       The six new additions to the revised SPJ Code and the reasoning behind each

•       Why the code remains voluntary and why Axelrod believes that is the right approach

•       How opinion journalism carries the same ethical obligations as straight reporting — and why that standard is harder to meet

•       The economic forces behind the decline of media trust, from advertising collapse to the replacement of veteran journalists with cheaper commentary

•       What readers and the public can do to hold journalism accountable and support ethical reporting

•       The right to be forgotten in Europe and why no equivalent formal process exists in the United States

Go Listen

The full conversation with Dr. Dan Axelrod is available now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. New episodes of Humanity in Journalism release every other Tuesday.

You can also run any article through ReporterLens to see how it measures up to the updated SPJ Code of Ethics. Free, no login required, at reporterlens.app.

Subscribe:  humanityinjournalism.com · New episodes every other Tuesday · YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify

Sources

Society of Professional Journalists. SPJ Code of Ethics. Revised 2026. spj.org/ethics. Confirmed accessible October 19, 2026.

Gallup. "Trust in Media at New Low of 28% in U.S." October 2, 2025. news.gallup.com/poll/695762/trust-media-new-low.aspx. Confirmed accessible October 19, 2026.

Center for Integrity in News Reporting / newspapers.org. "Gallup Poll Shows Uptick in Media Trust; CFINR Says Rebuilding Public Confidence Remains Urgent." October 2026. newspapers.org. Confirmed accessible October 19, 2026.

The Media Integrity Project. ReporterLens Methodology. reporterlens.app/methodology. Confirmed accessible October 19, 2026.

Axelrod, Dan, and Jessica Wiederhorn. "Ethics in Journalism: A Conversation with the Man Who Helped Rewrite the Code." Humanity in Journalism podcast. October 19, 2026. humanityinjournalism.com

Verification

SPJ Code of Ethics (revised 2026): spj.org/ethics — confirmed current as of October 19, 2026.

Gallup media trust figure (28%, September 2025): news.gallup.com/poll/695762/trust-media-new-low.aspx — confirmed accessible October 19, 2026.

2026 Gallup uptick (33%): newspapers.org/stories/gallup-poll-shows-uptick-in-media-trust — confirmed accessible October 19, 2026.

ReporterLens methodology: reporterlens.app/methodology — confirmed accessible October 19, 2026.

Six new SPJ code additions: confirmed against episode transcript (October 19, 2026) and cross-referenced with spj.org/ethics.

The Media Integrity Project is the publisher of the Humanity in Journalism podcast and the developer of ReporterLens, both of which are referenced in this article. Quotes from Dr. Dan Axelrod are drawn from the October 19, 2026 episode of the podcast. The SPJ does not endorse The Media Integrity Project, ReporterLens, or this podcast. Corrections: press@themediaintegrityproject.com