About Jake Tapper: Using a news platform to promote partisan content for personal gain is unethical. [View all]

[Doodley]

Yes, Fox News does it, but that's pure propaganda. Sean Hannity has admitted in court that Fox isn't news, but entertainent. What Jake Tapper has done is to sink to that level. In fact, it is worse, because he has chosen to relentlessly plug a book that attacks Joe Biden and everyone around him, including Kamala Harris, while kissing the ass of Trump. Tapper uses this to completely ignore Trump's decline and the damage Trump is doing on a scale we have never seen.

This is what ChatGPT says about the ethics of what Jake Tapper is doing:

From an ethical and global journalistic standards perspective, it is generally not appropriate for a current news presenter to both publish a politically critical book and promote it during their news show. Doing so violates widely accepted norms of journalistic impartiality, credibility, and public trust.

To reinforce this view, we can look at examples from nations and respected journalistic organizations that would not tolerate or would strongly discourage this kind of behavior:


🌐 International Ethical Standards
🔹 United Kingdom – BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
The BBC’s editorial guidelines are among the strictest in the world when it comes to impartiality:

BBC journalists are explicitly barred from engaging in public political advocacy.

Publishing a book critical of a political figure—especially if promoted during a BBC program—would be seen as a breach of impartiality and could result in dismissal or reassignment.

Example: BBC journalists must seek approval even for book deals, and the content must not compromise the BBC’s neutrality.

Key Principle:

“The BBC must not endorse or appear to endorse any political viewpoint, party, or candidate.”


🔹 Canada – CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
CBC journalists must avoid any activity that might conflict with their responsibilities or perception of fairness.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices prohibits personal promotion during news broadcasts and requires full disclosure of any external publications.

If a CBC news anchor published a critical book and promoted it on air, it would be considered a clear violation of ethics.


🔹 Germany – ARD/ZDF (Public Broadcasters)
German public broadcasters enforce strict political neutrality for news presenters.

Journalists are expected to avoid any activity that could undermine credibility, including publicly supporting or attacking political figures.

Self-promotion of a politically charged book would be viewed as a breach of public service broadcasting ethics.


🏛️ Ethical Journalism Organizations
🔹 Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) – United States
The SPJ Code of Ethics outlines clear expectations:

Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.

Remain free of associations that may compromise integrity or impartiality.

Disclose unavoidable conflicts and refuse gifts, favors, or special treatment.

Promoting a partisan book while presenting the news would likely violate all three.


🔹 Reuters Handbook of Journalism
Reuters holds its journalists to a high standard of neutrality and independence:

Reporters and anchors must avoid political bias, and promotional activities that could reflect poorly on the brand.

A Reuters news presenter engaging in political book promotion would be considered unethical.


❌ Countries With Strict Standards That Would Not Tolerate This
Norway (NRK): Promotes strict neutrality; journalists may not use their roles to influence political discourse.

Sweden (SVT): Requires strict separation between journalism and opinion.

Japan (NHK): Expects public broadcasters to maintain complete political neutrality—political advocacy would be met with reprimand.

Finland (YLE): Enforces rules to preserve trust in public service media, barring journalists from political commentary or self-promotion.


✅ Summary
Across respected democracies and public broadcasters, it would not be tolerated for a current news presenter to:

Publish a critical book about a former (or current) political figure and

Promote that book on their own news show.

Such conduct would be viewed as a breach of ethical standards, risking:

Loss of credibility

Disciplinary action

Public distrust in the institution

In short:
A journalist's first obligation is to public trust. Using a news platform to promote partisan content for personal gain fundamentally violates that trust—ethically, professionally, and globally.