Tartu Declaration

(2006, revised in 2013)

Preamble

Members of the European Journalism Training Association educate or train their students/participants from the principle that journalists should serve the public by:

• providing an insight into political, economic, socio-cultural conditions,
• stimulating and strengthening democracy at all levels,
• stimulating and strengthening personal and institutional accountability,
• strengthening the possibilities for citizens to make choices in societal and personal contexts,

while:

• feeling responsible for the freedom of expression,
• respecting the integrity of individuals,
• being critical of sources and independent of vested interests,
• using customary ethical standards.
   

1. The competence to reflect on journalism’s role in society
   1. have a commitment to democratic society
   2. know the legal and ethical framework of journalism
   3. to be able to develop a grounded personal view of journalism
   4. understand the values that underlie professional choices
   5. to be able to link the local with the national and the global
       
2. The competence to find relevant issues and angles
   1. know current events and their context
   2. know the characteristics of different media
   3. be able to determine the relevance of a subject for different audiences
   4. be able to stimulate broad participation in debate 
   5. be able to discover newsworthy issues on the basis of in-depth research
       
3. The competence to organise journalistic work
   1. be able to make a realistic work plan
   2. be able to work under time pressure
   3. be able to adjust to unforeseen situations​
   4. be able to organise contributions from the public
   5. be able to work within budget limits
       
4. The competence to gather information swiftly
   1. have a wide general knowledge
   2. have a more specialised knowledge in a field
   3. be able to find multiple perspectives on an issue 
   4. be able to evaluate sources
   5. be able to interact with the public
       
5. The competence to select the essential information
   1. be able to distinguish between main and side issues
   2. be able to select information on the basis of reliability
   3. be able to select information on the basis of relevance
   4. be able to select information in accordance with the media platform
   5. be able to interpret the selected information
       
6. The competence to present information in an effective journalistic form
   1. have an outstanding linguistic competence
   2. have a good visual competence
   3. be able to use different types of story-telling techniques
   4. present content in effective combinations of words, sounds and visuals
   5. be able to make journalistic use of technology
      ​
7. The competence to account for journalistic work
   1. have a clear idea of the required quality of journalistic products
   2. be able to evaluate own work
   3. be willing to take criticism constructively
   4. be able to take responsibility for the choices made during the process
   5. be able to take responsibility for the impact of the product
      ​
8. The competence to cooperate in a team
   1. have good social skills
   2. be reliable
   3. be able to present ideas convincingly
   4. be able to find solutions
   5. show insight into roles and relations within a team
      ​
9. The competence to act as an entrepreneurial journalist
   1. show initiative
   2. understand the economic conditions underlying the profession
   3. be able to recognize market opportunities
   4. be able to develop new products/formats
   5. know the practical aspects of being a freelancer​
       
10. The competence to contribute to the renewal of the profession
    1. be able to reflect on the future of journalism
    2. be able to define a complex practical/professional problem
    3. be able to adopt scholarly methods of data collection
    4. be able to adopt trustworthy methods of analysing and processing data
    5. be able to provide workable solutions for complex practical issues