Between profession and audience: codes of conduct and transparency as quality instruments for off- and online journalism

A three-wave Delphi study in the Netherlands invited 60 experts to assess the quality of online and traditional journalism and to propose measures for improvement. Although from very different backgrounds and representing a wide range of opinions, the experts agree on a focused set of core standards to be strictly observed by journalists. They separate these rules from other important norms about which journalists and their media may justifiably hold different views. And they identify transparency and a voluntary code of conduct as two crucial instruments to strengthen compliance with these norms. Summarizing the results of the Delphi panel, we propose a voluntary but binding code for journalism in the twenty-first century.