Media Detectives

There is no doubting the fact that this CODE OF ETHICS sounds like it should do the job very nicely in making sure the press maintain high standards of professionalism. Very noble sounding indeed is it’s remit to protect the rights of the individual and the public’s right to know. However, a code of ethics is all well and good but it must be implemented and policed otherwise it is not worth the paper it is written on.

We at Youcare.com believe that this ‘cornerstone of the system of self regulation’ that this industry is supposed to have ‘made a binding commitment to’ - is falling way short of the mark. Everyday we read articles and see photographs that are in flagrant breach of the editor's code as this system of self-regulation currently in place does nothing to deter lazy unethical journalism. Profit, sensationalism, smears and propaganda are put before fairness, honesty, integrity and truth.

Tabloids flagrantly breach this ethical code every single day by not distinguishing clearly between comment, conjecture and fact. This is not acceptable and is being used to shape and form the opinions of a nation. Now this is the important bit! We have no wish to be seen to be harking on and on without your input. This is a campaign for all of the UK to get involved in. Honesty and integrity is vital in the media and is quite possibly the most important topic in the world today as we all need balanced quality news and information so we can stay effectively informed and play an active role in our democracy.

This campaign needs your help! In any campaign it is vital that we raise awareness of the issues concerned to as much of the population as possible. In order to garner popular support and the necessary outrage we need to gather as much evidence as possible that our newspapers are not abiding by their own editor's code of practice. We would like to enlist the help of the British public to become MEDIA DETECTIVES and keep a careful eye on our newspapers, effectively taking on the Press Complaints Commission’s role where it is failing. Keep an eye on your newspaper and let us know when you believe they have broken the ethical code. At the bottom of this page we have created user friendly forms to enable you to submit your scanned images of offending newspaper and magazine articles and input your thoughts and analysis. We would like YOUCARE.COM to become the website of British people actively involved in policing declining media standards in the UK.

In this way YOU can play an active roll in policing bad journalism and help us to build a newspaper ‘WALL OF SHAME’ as a permanent record and reminder of the kind of journalism that is not acceptable any more in modern Britain.

So come on all you journalism students, media studies undergraduates and armchair enthusiasts, get on board, read the editor's code to get an understanding as to the standards expected of our newspapers and then identify where they have breached this code. Stick on your Sherlock Holmes cap, take a puff on your pipe and start your work as an official YOUCARE.COM media detective.

We will be offering prizes every month for the best articles and analysis submitted.