Opinion | From the EIC: formally introducing The Panther’s ethics, policies and procedures

The creation of an ethics, policies and procedures page was meant to increase transparency and created a streamlined method to address questions and concerns. Graphic by ANGELINA HICKS, editor-in-chief

When sitting in front of a panel of interviewers last spring while applying for the role of editor-in-chief, one question circled my mind: how was I planning to leave The Panther better than I found it?

I could have described how I’d improve The Panther by pursuing great reporting and storytelling and advertising the newspaper to more students. That definitely is one of my goals for the year, but I wanted something more tangible. I wanted to leave something behind for years — even after I’m gone and no one on campus remembers who I am.

Angelina Hicks, editor-in-chief

So, I explained during that interview about how my two biggest goals for the school year were to 1) bring a print edition of The Panther back to campus and 2) create an ethics page on our website for future reference and guidance.

My second goal has already come to fruition, and the 2022 ethics, policies and procedures page for The Panther is already live on our website.

I’ll admit, we have had guidelines like this before. Unfortunately, they were abandoned somewhere along the way. This is the first time The Panther has had any of these public policies on our website since I’ve attended Chapman.

I wrote this year’s ethics page with inspiration from previous guidelines for the newspaper and other publications, but I also strategically evaluated various complaints The Panther editors have faced over the past few years and implemented guidelines to serve as a culmination of knowledge and experience.

Right now, the page includes guidelines for censorship, anonymous sources, takedown demands, style guides, interviewing and reporting ethics and the editor-in-chief.

The creation of an ethics page not only increases transparency in how The Panther editors and writers conduct their reporting, but it also creates a more streamlined method to address questions and concerns moving forward.

I want these guidelines to serve as a foundation for years to come so new writers and editors have information to build on each year.

Although I did my best to create a comprehensive guide, the page is far from finished. This is a fluid guide meant to be updated and adapted each semester by various editors for years to come.

I’m extremely proud of The Panther and all we have accomplished during my few short years on staff. Over the past few years alone, we increased our online presence to unseen heights. We created a video and podcast section from scratch. We’ve grown our Instagram following to more than 2,500 users. We rebranded The Panther’s design to look more professional and streamlined.

And it’s paying off. Our social media feed looks fantastic. We are getting more engagement than ever on our social media accounts. We’re driving traffic to the website and producing quality content every week.

We have a newsroom full of young students growing as journalists and learning the importance of reporting in a local community every day.

I’m hoping these policies make a difference and improve The Panther’s professionalism and credibility. Next, it’s time to focus on my other goal for the semester — bringing a print edition of The Panther back to campus.

Stay tuned.

To read the 2022 ethics, policies and procedures guidelines for The Panther, click here.