Charter of Editorial Integrity

The Citizen is the flagship of the Centre for Advancing Journalism within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. The proprietor is the University of Melbourne.

The University’s strategy is founded on the metaphor of a triple helix; three interwoven strands of teaching, research and engagement that shape and reinforce one another.

Through the triple helix of activities, the University and The Citizen both seek to play a positive role in the modern world.

The Citizen is an outlet and a training tool for the journalists of the future. It conceives its role as an exemplar and a model of journalism as an act of engaged citizenship.

Inherent is the principle of integrity. Just as academics must be allowed independence in their research and teaching, so The Citizen’s editorial team must be free to follow the evidence in their inquiries and investigations, communicating the results of this to the audience with thoroughness and disinterest.

The broad aims of the University and The Citizen are aligned, but will not be identical in all circumstances.

In this document, the University commits to supporting The Citizen as an outlet for journalism of integrity.

In particular, the University makes the following commitments:

  • Those working on The Citizen will perform their roles in accordance with Australian Press Council principles and standards, and in accord with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Code of Ethics.
  • The University acknowledges that journalists, artists and photographers working for The Citizen must do their work with fairness, in accordance with the evidence and regardless of any commercial, political or personal interests of the staff or the University as proprietor.’

Copyright and republication

All student journalists retain copyright of their own work published in The Citizen.

University membership of The Junction gives The Junction licence to publish student work uploaded by The Citizen’s campus editor/s and to share it with a select number of publication partners who have been approved by The Junction Editorial Board.  All publication partners are required to publish bylines that include the names of student journalists, their universities, the university publication that first published the work and The Junction.

Articles, or any information contained in those articles, may not be modified, copied, republished, distributed or communicated in a way which will infringe student journalists’ intellectual property. Articles may not be republished elsewhere without the authority of the student journalist whose byline appears on the story, images or any other published material. If you wish to contact journalists, please do so through The Editor: [email protected].

Affiliations

The Citizen is bound by the principles and standards of the Australian Press Council.

The Citizen is also signatory to the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance’s Code of Ethics.

Corrections

The Citizen is committed to correcting significant errors quickly.

Concerns about content should be addressed to The Editor: [email protected]