FAQ
What is Journalism Trust Initiative?
Journalism Trust Initiative is a ISO-type standard for good governance, self-regulation, and independence in journalism.
What are the main goals of Journalism Trust Initiative?
Journalism Trust Initiative aims to strengthen trust in journalism by establishing a common set of internationally recognized standards for news organizations and making it easier for audiences to understand how media outlets operate and whether they adhere to professional journalistic practices. A core objective of Journalism Trust Initiative is to promote transparency by encouraging media organizations to disclose key information about their ownership and governance, editorial policies, funding and revenue sources, corrections procedures, and ethical standards.
Journalism Trust Initiative also supports quality journalism by helping news organizations assess and improve their internal processes through a framework of self-assessment and independent audits that foster continuous improvement.
In addition, Journalism Trust Initiative seeks to combat misinformation by evaluating the processes, governance, and accountability mechanisms behind a news organization rather than judging individual articles, recognizing that transparent and responsible editorial practices are more likely to produce reliable journalism.
Finally, Journalism Trust Initiative aims to create economic incentives for trustworthy news by enabling advertisers, technology platforms, and funding organizations to identify media outlets that meet recognized standards, thereby helping quality journalism gain greater visibility and access to advertising, funding, and partnership opportunities.
What does Journalism Trust Initiative measure?
The Journalism Trust Initiative standard focuses on the newsroom’s practices, including: editorial independence, accuracy and fact-checking procedures, accountability and corrections, professional ethics, transparency of ownership and funding, diversity and inclusion policies, audience engagement processes.
What does Journalism Trust Initiative not do?
Journalism Trust Initiative is not a fact-checking service for individual stories, a rating of political viewpoints, nor a judgment of whether a publication is “right” or “wrong” on specific issues.
Instead, it evaluates whether a news organisation has transparent, accountable, and professional systems in place for producing journalism.
How can Journalism Trust Initiative be used?
Journalism Trust Initiative can be used by the news industry and the broader ecosystem surrounding it as a practical framework for identifying, supporting, and promoting trustworthy journalism.
Advertisers and media buyers can use Journalism Trust Initiative as a reliable indicator when deciding where to place advertising budgets, helping ensure that advertising revenue supports credible news outlets.
Technology platforms, search engines, and social media companies can incorporate Journalism Trust Initiative signals into their ranking, recommendation, and content discovery systems to increase the visibility of trustworthy sources.
Funders, donors, and media development organisations can use Journalism Trust Initiative as a due diligence tool when selecting media partners or allocating financial support.
Regulators and policymakers may also reference Journalism Trust Initiative as an independent, internationally recognised standard that promotes media transparency and accountability without evaluating the content of individual articles.
Finally, audiences benefit from greater transparency about how news organisations operate, allowing them to make more informed decisions about which sources they choose to trust and support.
Who is behind Journalism Trust Initiative?
Journalism Trust Initiative was developed in 2019 as an ISO-type international standard by 130 experts from journalism, media, regulators, associations, advertising, and digital platforms.
They defined the criteria for transparency, independence, and ethics necessary for an industry standard applicable to all types of information sources.
The idea of designing a self-regulatory mechanism relevant to all information sources worldwide came from the press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders, based in Paris.
Are ISO standards commonly used in creative or intellectual activities?
There are quite a few international standards used in intellectual, creative, artistic, design, and craft-oriented fields. They usually focus on process quality, documentation, ethics, rights management, etc. They do not attempt nor aim to standardise creativity or intellectual work itself.
How are ISO standards conceived?
Standards like ISO are created by groups of specialists from around the world who work together in what are called technical committees.
These committees bring together experts to agree on what the standard should cover, how key terms should be defined, and what the final requirements should include.
These groups are made up not only of industry professionals, but also representatives from consumer organisations, universities, non-governmental organisations, and governments.
The process used by ISO is based on consensus, meaning decisions are reached through discussion and agreement, and feedback from all involved parties is taken into account.
Could Journalism Trust Initiative restrict press freedom?
Journalism Trust Initiative is designed to strengthen press freedom rather than limit it.
Its main goal is to promote freedom of expression and independent journalism by encouraging media organisations to follow clear professional standards and best practices.
The idea is that greater transparency can help build public trust and distinguish reliable journalism from misleading or manipulative information, not to regulate or restrict editorial content.
Is the Journalism Trust Initiative replacing existing editorial guidelines or self-regulatory structures?
No. Journalism Trust Initiative is fully complementary, as it adds a voluntary and independent compliance level to those existing processes. It can be used by media outlets internally as an additional diagnostic tool, and by external bodies such as press councils or regulatory authorities/organisations to support them in performing their duties.
How does the Journalism Trust Initiative fit into digital policies and the call for regulating tech companies?
Journalism Trust Initiative has explicit reference points in major digital legislation, most prominently in the European Union’s regulatory framework:
- The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA): Fully active, the EMFA explicitly highlights Journalism Trust Initiative in its preamble as a trusted self-regulatory standard. It uses Journalism Trust Initiative to solve a massive tech friction point: preventing tech giants from arbitrary content moderation. Under EMFA, if a media outlet is certified according to a standard like Journalism Trust Initiative, Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) like Meta, Google, or X, cannot arbitrarily take down or shadowban their content without giving them immediate prior notice and a fast-tracked appeal process.
- The Digital Services Act (DSA): The DSA forces tech companies to assess and mitigate systemic risks to public discourse and democratic processes. Journalism Trust Initiative integrates here by providing platforms with a plug-and-play, audited signal. Platforms can use Journalism Trust Initiative data to fulfill their DSA risk-mitigation obligations, systematically boosting verified media while cutting off traffic to anonymous disinformation mills.
Additionally, social media algorithms have been optimised for engagement, a model that naturally favours sensationalism, outrage, and cheap-to-produce fake news over remunerated, verified reporting. Digital policy is increasingly forcing tech platforms to grant ‘due prominence’ to public-interest content. Tech companies can directly use Journalism Trust Initiative’s API into their recommendation engines and search algorithms to elevate verified, high-quality reporting in user feeds, or redirect programmatic advertising revenues away from algorithmic ‘made-for-advertising’ (MFA) clickbait and back toward audited journalistic content.
What are the steps towards Journalism Trust Initiative certification?
The process consists of three steps:
- Introduction to the standard: the media outlet reviews the 130 criteria covering transparency, editorial independence and professional journalism practices.
- Self-evaluation: the news organisation can perform a ‘gap analysis’ against the criteria of the Journalism Trust Initiative standard, identify areas for improvement and publish the results of this step in a Journalism Trust Initiative transparency report.
- Certification: an independent third-party auditor assesses the news organisation’s compliance with the standard and awards certification if the audit is successful.
Is my media eligible for Journalism Trust Initiative?
Journalism Trust Initiative is for all types of news organisations, small and large, recently established or historical, based anywhere in the world.
Being eligible means committing to an ethical practice in editorial activity, good governance in the ownership and management of the media, upholding principles of self-regulation, and actively engaging the public.
How much time does the self-evaluation take?
The actual self-assessment questionnaire can typically be completed in a couple of hours.
However, if the media outlet is conducting a thorough internal gap analysis (gathering evidence, reviewing policies, checking transparency disclosures, editorial guidelines, corrections procedures, ownership information, revenue disclosures, and governance documents) it often takes several days to a few weeks.
This estimate is based on the scope of the 130 criteria rather than an official Journalism Trust Initiative timeline, and depends on factors that are internal to the media outlet.
Where can I get help during the self-evaluation?
Visit our Resource Center to find e-learning content from us and from partners, our FAQ and our Glossary.
I can’t or don’t want to answer part of the questions but I would still like to publish my Journalism Trust Initiative transparency report. Is that possible?
Mandatory questions must be answered to publish Journalism Trust Initiative transparency report, regardless of how you answer each of them.
There is no obligation to disclose sensitive information, especially when the security of the media, its personnel and any people involved in its activities (sources, partners, etc.), or for any serious and justifiable reason.
Is it possible to change or add information to my self-assessment once I have published my Journalism Trust Initiative transparency report?
Yes. You can always access the questionnaire and add or amend entries as needed.
Who can access my answers once the transparency report is published?
Everyone.
Transparency reports and certificates are publicly available via the Community page.
For more details, consult our Privacy Policy or contact us.
What is the process to obtain Journalism Trust Initiative certification?
Journalism Trust Initiative certification process has three stages.
First, the introduction to the standard via Journalism Trust Initiative’s portal.
Second, the self-evaluation by the media.
Finally, the audit towards Journalism Trust Initiative certification, conducted by an audit firm (not by Reporters Without Borders, nor by Journalism Trust Initiative).
How much does the audit towards Journalism Trust Initiative certification cost?
The cost depends in great part on the size of the organisation under audit, and the complexity of the tasks required to conduct the audit.
A media outlet can request a quote from accredited certifiers at any time to find out about the costs of the audit for their organisation.
Who pays for the audit services of the certification body?
Media outlets themselves. Subsidies from donors, philanthropies, associations or others might be available. Aspiring candidates for the Journalism Trust Initiative certification are encouraged to reach out and see if any partner would be interested in supporting this effort.
How much time does it take to get certified on top?
Not more than one month, provided that the media is fully prepared and has bridged all the gaps with the criteria of the Journalism Trust Initiative standard prior to the audit.
For how long is Journalism Trust Initiative certificate valid for?
Two years.
What happens during the validity of Journalism Trust Initiative certification?
To maintain the validity of the certificate, the certification body conducts a surveillance audit. This can consist in part or all the audit activities initially undertaken.
What happens after the expiration date of Journalism Trust Initiative certificate?
Journalism Trust Initiative certificate expires after two years.
To renew it, media outlets must go through the audit with the certification body of their choice (there is no obligation to do it with the same audit firm).
Is it possible to change or add information to my self-assessment when Journalism Trust Initiative certificate is active?
Yes. The certification body will be notified and assess the need or not for recertification, based on the updated information about your organisation. In such case, the certificate may be temporarily suspended or deactivated.
How does a certification body get accredited to conduct audits towards Journalism Trust Initiative certification?
Certification bodies are required to be certified according to the ISO/IEC Standard no. 17065:2012 (Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services). They must also commit to all the provisions, requirements and other details included in the Journalism Trust Initiative Certification and Accreditation Programme.
Glossary Index
A
Accountability: The act of the media outlet declaring its governing principles and how it is to be held responsible for adhering to them. (see Preamble for more about the key principles of ethical journalism)
Advertiser: An entity paying a media outlet for publication of commercial messages designed to drive consumer activity.
Advertising: Any commercial messages provided by an advertiser designed to reach an audience to drive consumer activity.
Audience: Those people who do, or could potentially, read, watch, listen or otherwise consume the content of a media outlet.
B
Best Practices: A document for employees of a media outlet to illustrate for them the steps, methods, and processes of producing content.
Brand Name: A publication identifier meant to be used by media outlets as the way of signifying the origin of the content to the content consumer.
Board of Directors: The group of people who manage a legal entity with the authority given to them by the larger group of direct owners.
C
Complaint: The message of a comment from someone in the audience of a media outlet wishing to voice a concern, correction or other possible change to any content.
Conflicts of Interest: Any situation where a person or an organization has financial, political or other motivations that may be either helped or harmed by their involvement with another person or organization. For this document, the concern is most specifically with motivations of anyone involved in the ownership of a media outlet or in the production of any content.
Conforming Entities: For all of the Journalism Trust Initiative, the media outlet. (See “IV. Terms and Definitions” in the section “‘Media Outlet’ – the Conforming Entity”.)
Content: All information published by a media outlet that is not Advertising. This may include articles, audio or video recordings, etc.
D
Data Collection: The act of a website gathering data on members of an audience.
Direct Owner: A person or corporation that has possession of all or part of a Legal Entity. This may be through direct corporate ownership, stock ownership, or any other means.
E
Editorial Mission Statement: A document created by a media outlet that sets out the principles, values, and overall objectives behind the generation of the published Content.
Editorial Guidelines : A document created or used by a media outlet that sets out the essential guidelines and rules for all employees and freelancers to abide by when producing content. It can also include enforcement mechanisms and sanctions.
Employee: A part of the paid staff of the media outlet or the legal entity. Combined with freelancers, these are the people publish the content.
Eyewitness News: A form of user generated content. (note that this term is a common brand name for many ABC broadcast news stations in the United States)
F
Fairness: For political content especially, but in general for everything published by a legal entity, the notion that the audience will get a complete and balanced view of any topic from the media outlet. (see Preamble for more about the key principles of ethical journalism)
Fairness Doctrine: Specifically in the U.S., a former law that required licensed broadcasters to present content in ways that exhibited political balance. Eliminated in 1987.
Founding Date: The year in which a Legal Entity was initially organized and established.
Freelance: Anyone involved in the creation of content that is not a regular employee of the legal entity.
I
Impartiality: The attempt to achieve fairness in content of distinct points of view with objectivity and dedication to truth. (see Preamble for more about the key principles of ethical journalism)
Independence: Freedom of a media outlet from external control by governments or any other outside entity. (see Preamble for more about the key principles of ethical journalism)
Individual Journalist: A media outlet that has only one person as the Content creator. Also known as One-person enterprise.
Indirect Owner: A person or corporation that has possession of all or part of a Legal Entity by way of ownership of a holding company or other organization that is itself a Direct Owner.
J
Journalism: The gathering, production and dissemination of information in a framework of ethical values.
L
Legal Entity: The corporation or other body organized under locally applicable laws for the purpose of publishing under a brand name or names. The media outlet works as a part of this.
Listener: Part of an Audience.
M
Media Outlet: Any publication using one or more brand names that produces content for consumption by an audience of readers, viewers, etc.
N
N/A: “Not Applicable” used as an answer when a question has a mandatory response that does not have an applicable answer in that particular instance.
News Agency: Any service that provides content to a media outlet.
Newsroom: In general, the physical location of the media outlet, especially the central place where the content is produced.
O
Objectivity: The pursuit of journalism for the sake of the audience and not for the goals of one person, organization or any particular point of view. (see Preamble for more about the key principles of ethical journalism)
Ombudsman: The non-gender-neutral version of ombudsperson. Not used in this document.
Ombudsperson: A representative of the audience who ideally has complete independence to express opinions about content without threat of interference. May be employed by the media outlet. May be called a Readers Editor or a Viewers/Listeners’ Advocate.
One-person enterprise: > see see individual journalist
Opinion: Content that typically gives the views of the creator and does not adhere as closely to the goals of objectivity or impartiality. While no news content can be totally objective, and no commentary is devoid of facts, in general, opinions are designed to persuade or entertain rather than to inform. The JTI Standard require that the difference be made clear to the audience.
P
Post-publication: Editorial control, or in some cases, an absence of editorial control, of content that happens after publication, most typically of user generated content. (see pre-publication)
Pre-publication: Editorial control of content that happens before publication. (see Post-publication)
Privacy: Being free from public observation. In general, members of the public have certain (but not unlimited) rights to privacy that media outlets work to protect in balance with the goal of informing the public. (see Preamble for more about the key principles of ethical journalism)
Pseudonym: A name used in the place of the real name of a person in editorial content, typically for disclosed safety reasons.
Public Money: Funding provided by the general public of a distinct governmental boundary, in some cases through a separately imposed license fee, mandated or direct donations, or through subsidies from the state.
R
Reader: A member of the audience.
Responsible Editor: Person legally responsible for editorial content. For example, this is a legally defined position in Sweden.
Revenue: The total amount of money received by a legal entity.
S
Shareholder: An individual or organization that has some ownership stake in a legal entity.
Social Media: Platforms that structure and distribute content created by users, media outlets, or others on the Internet and track the behaviour of all users.
Sources: People who provide information to media outlets.
Sponsored Content: In whatever form, content that in some way is funded by an organization outside the media outlet.
Stakeholder: Any person or organization with a financial or other interest in a topic.
State: A unit of government.
T
Transparency: In journalism, the notion that any potential conflicts of interest and other background information that may be of interest to is disclosed. (see Preamble for more about the key principles of ethical journalism)
Turnover: (mainly British) The total revenue from all sources of income for an organization.
U
UGC/User generated content: Content published in any way by a media outlet that originated from the public or the audience and was not generated by employees or freelancers.
URL: “Uniform Resource Locator” The web address for a brand name publication. For example, www.bbc.co.uk is the URL for the BBC.
V
Viewer: A member of an audience.