Call it fallout from the Brian Williams scandal. Employees at NBC-owned stations have been told they have to review the network’s “NBCUniversal News Group Policies and Guidelines,” a here’s-what-you-can-and-here’s-what-you-can’t-do manual that covers everything from accepting gifts to policies on fairness and accuracy in reporting.
According to Chicago media writer Robert Feder, employees at NBC-owned WMAQ were told they had until Friday to review the guidelines. “It is important that our staff and daily hires be up to date on NBC News Policies and Guidelines,” news director Debra Juarez told Feder Tuesday:
Defining accuracy as “ensuring all of the facts are correct and presenting them in their proper context,” the guidelines state: “Accuracy and fairness are fundamental principles of journalism. As we routinely rely on information and pictures coming from other traditional and non-traditional sources, we must verify their accuracy and authenticity and ensure fairness, because we are responsible for everything we air or publish.”
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