Guidelines

Guidelines of Finance Law | Austria

Principles for Journalistic Work
Declaration on Reporting Priorities and Public Agenda (Editorial Policy)
Declaration on Ethics and Journalistic and Publishing Practices
Guideline for Fact-Checking
Guideline for Diversity
Guideline for Non-Disclosure of Sources
Guideline for Non-Disclosure of Authors
Guideline for Feedback
Guideline for Disclosure and Correction of Errors
Guideline for Advertising
More Information

Dr Mariella Stubhann MPM MBA
Finanz & Recht „Als Herausgeberin und Chefredakteurin von Finanz & Recht | Österreich bürge ich für gewissenhaften und einwandfreien Journalismus.“

Principles for Journalistic Work

Code of Honor for the Austrian Press

The Austrian Press Council has established principles for journalistic work – the so-called Code of Honor for the Austrian Press. The Code of Honor contains rules to ensure the preservation of journalistic professional ethics in the daily work of journalists. The journalists of Finance Law | Austria are committed to this Code of Honor:

1. Freedom

1.1. Freedom in reporting and commentary, in word and image, is an integral part of press freedom. The gathering and dissemination of news and comments must not be hindered.

1.2. The limits of this freedom for the activities of journalists lie in voluntary self-restriction based on the provisions of this Code of Honor.

2. Accuracy

2.1. Conscientiousness and correctness in research and reproduction of news and comments are the highest obligation of journalists.

2.2. Quotes marked by quotation marks must reproduce the wording as accurately as possible. A merely paraphrased reproduction must not be put in quotation marks. Anonymous quotations should be avoided unless it concerns the safety of the quoted person or the prevention of other serious harm to them.

2.3. Accusations must not be made without demonstrably attempting to obtain a statement from the accused person(s) or institution(s). If it is a reproduction of a publicly made accusation, this must be clearly indicated.

2.4. As soon as an editorial office becomes aware that it has published an incorrect presentation of facts, a voluntary correction corresponds to journalistic self-understanding and decency.

2.5. If a justified correction is received from a reader regarding a report, it should be published as extensively and as quickly as possible.

2.6. If an important judicial or official decision is made in a matter dealt with by a medium, or if significant new aspects emerge in another way, this should be reported appropriately.

3. Distinguishability

3.1. It must be clear to readers whether a journalistic presentation is a factual report, the reproduction of third-party opinion(s), or a commentary.

3.2. Before reproducing third-party opinions, their validity should be checked if there are serious doubts about the correctness of a quote.

3.3. Photo montages and image edits that could be perceived as documentary images by casual readers must be clearly identified as montages or edits.

4. Outside Influences

4.1. Influence by outsiders on the content or form of an editorial contribution is inadmissible.

4.2. Inadmissible attempts at influence are not only interventions and pressures but also the granting of personal advantages that go beyond the area of immediate professional activity.

4.3. Anyone who accepts gifts or other personal advantages in connection with their work as a journalist that could influence journalistic representation violates journalistic ethics.

4.4. Economic interests of the publisher must not influence editorial content in a way that could result in misinformation or suppression of essential information.

4.5. In reports about trips that were made by invitation, this fact should be pointed out in an appropriate manner.

5. Protection of Personality

5.1. Every person has the right to preservation of personal dignity and protection of personality.

5.2. Personal defamation, vilification, and mockery violate journalistic ethics.

5.3. Persons whose lives are in danger must not be identified in media reports if the reporting can increase the danger.

5.4. Special attention must be paid to the anonymity interests of accident and crime victims. The identity of a victim may be disclosed particularly if there is an official reason to do so, if the victim is a publicly known person, or if the victim or close relatives have consented to the disclosure.

6. Privacy

6.1. The privacy of every person is fundamentally protected.

6.2 For children, the protection of privacy takes precedence over news value.

6.3. Before publishing images and reports about young people, the question of public interest should be critically examined with particular care.

6.4. Reports about misconduct by young people must not hinder or prevent their possible reintegration into society. Full naming should be avoided in such cases.

6.5. Special restraint is required when interviewing and photographing children and in reporting on cases that may adversely affect their existence.

7. Protection against Blanket Vilification and Discrimination

7.1. Blanket suspicions and blanket vilification of individuals and groups of people are to be avoided under all circumstances.

7.2. Any discrimination based on age, disability, gender, as well as ethnic, national, religious, sexual, ideological, or other grounds is inadmissible.

7.3. Degradation or mockery of religious teachings or recognized churches and religious communities that is likely to cause justifiable offense is inadmissible.

8. Material Acquisition

8.1. No unfair methods may be used in obtaining oral and written documents as well as visual material.

8.2. Unfair methods include, for example, deception, exertion of pressure, intimidation, brutal exploitation of emotional stress situations, and the use of secret listening devices.

8.3. In individual cases, undercover research, including the appropriate methods necessary for its implementation, is justified when information of special public interest is being obtained.

8.4. When using private photos, the consent of the persons concerned or, in the case of minors, their legal guardians must be obtained, unless there is a legitimate public interest in reproducing the image.

9. Editorial Special Areas

9.1. Travel and tourism reports should also refer in an appropriate manner to social and political framework conditions and backgrounds (e.g., serious human rights violations).

9.2. Environmental, transport, and energy policy contexts should also be taken into account in the automotive section.

9.3. Tourism, automotive, and gastronomy reports, like all evaluations of consumer goods and services, should follow comprehensible criteria and be written by journalistically qualified persons.

10. Public Interest

10.1. In specific cases, especially with public figures, it will be necessary to carefully weigh the individual’s interest worthy of protection in not publishing a report or image against the public’s interest in publication.

10.2. Public interest in the sense of the Code of Honor for the Austrian Press is particularly given when it involves the clarification of serious crimes, the protection of public safety or health, or the prevention of misleading the public.

10.3. Photos taken in disregard of the privacy of the person(s) depicted (for example, by lying in wait) may only be published if a public interest clearly beyond voyeurism is evident.

11. Interests of Media Employees

The press will only fulfill its special responsibility to the public if private and business interests of media employees have no influence on editorial content. Media employees use information they learn in the course of their professional activities and which is not publicly accessible only for journalistic purposes and not for their own benefit or the benefit of third parties.

12. Suicide Reporting

Reporting on suicides and self-mutilation as well as suicide attempts and self-mutilation attempts generally requires great restraint. Responsible journalism weighs – also because of the danger of imitation – whether there is a predominant public interest and refrains from excessive reporting.

Guidelines of the Austrian Press Council for Financial and Economic Reporting

The Austrian Press Council has also established Guidelines of the Austrian Press Council for Financial and Economic Reporting. The journalists of Finance Law | Austria are also committed to these guidelines:

1. Scope of Application

This policy applies to editorial financial and economic reports that contain analyses and other information with explicit or implicit recommendations for investment strategies. Publication in the Finance or Business section is an indication that a financial or economic report is present.

2. Definitions

2.1. “Recommendation”: an editorially journalistically prepared report that explicitly or implicitly contains suggestions for investments or investment strategies in relation to financial instruments or issuers of financial instruments.

2.2. “Implicit suggestion for investments or investment strategies” is any information, including a current or future assessment of values or prices of financial instruments, that unambiguously suggests a specific investment or investment strategy.

2.3. “Insider information”: Precise information concerning issuers of financial instruments with potential to influence prices, which journalists have received in the course of their professional activities and which is not publicly accessible.

3. Market Manipulation and Insider Trading

3.1. Market manipulation through the dissemination of false or misleading information, as well as the use of insider information in the acquisition and disposal of financial instruments, are incompatible with the principles of media ethics.

3.2. To prevent market manipulation, journalists must present analyses and other information with recommendations for investment strategies objectively and disclose personal interests and conflicts of interest.

4. Disclosure of Identity in Recommendations for Investment Strategies

The recommendation must clearly and unambiguously show the identity of the person who bears the final editorial responsibility for the recommendation.

5. Objective Presentation

Financial and economic reporting must be objective. This means in particular:

a) Facts must be clearly distinguished from interpretations, estimates, opinions, and other types of non-factual information;

b) All sources must be reliable; if there is reason to doubt the reliability of the source, this must be clearly indicated;

c) All forecasts, predictions, and targeted price objectives must be clearly identified as such, and the essential assumptions underlying their preparation or use must be indicated.

When assessing objectivity, journalistic standards of care must be taken into account.

6. Disclosure of Interests and Conflicts of Interest

6.1. In reports according to point 1.1, all relationships and circumstances that could impair the objectivity of the recommendation must be disclosed, especially if the person bearing editorial responsibility, the media company, or a person holding a controlling interest in it has a significant financial interest in a financial instrument that is the subject of the recommendation, or if there is a substantial conflict of interest in connection with an issuer to which the recommendation relates.

6.2. Any person editorially involved in a report according to point 1.1 must inform the department head or editor-in-chief of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1.

7. Reporting on Third-Party Recommendations

When reporting on third-party recommendations, the following must be observed:

a) The identity of the person making the recommendation must be clearly and unambiguously stated.

b) Third-party recommendations must not be altered in their meaning; they must be clearly distinguished from own recommendations.

c) Summaries of third-party recommendations must not be misleading; if applicable, reference should be made to the original document and to the location where the disclosures associated with the original document are directly and easily accessible to the public.

The Trust Project

Finance Law | Austria aligns its actions with the fulfillment of the 8 Trust Indicators of The Trust Project.

Declaration on Reporting Priorities and Public Agenda (Editorial Policy)

Finance Law | Austria is a private, non-commercial authors’ project in Austria.

Our editorial team is independent of political parties and does not pursue any specific political line.

We offer independent information, guides, and news on the topics of finance, taxes, social issues, and law.

Declaration on Ethics and Journalistic and Publishing Practices

Our editorial team works according to the principles enshrined in the Code of Honor for the Austrian Press, the Guidelines of the Austrian Press Council for Financial and Economic Reporting, and The Trust Project.

Guideline for Fact-Checking

According to the Code of Ethics for the Austrian Press, conscientiousness and accuracy in research and reproduction of news and comments are the highest obligations of journalists. This principle is of utmost importance, especially for the topics we cover: finance, taxes, social issues, and law.

We adhere to this.

Guideline for Diversity

Respect and tolerance towards other people and their viewpoints shape the basic attitude of our editorial team. Inclusivity and diversity are at the center of our thinking and actions. We reject discrimination, regardless of the reasons.

Our contributions always present all facets of the content.

Guideline for Non-Disclosure of Sources

Every person has a right to the protection of their personality. If it is necessary to not disclose a source to protect them from disadvantages, or if other reasons outlined in the Code of Ethics for the Austrian Press apply, then we do not name them.

Guideline for Non-Disclosure of Authors

Our articles always name the authors responsible for the article.

Guideline for Feedback

In accordance with the Code of Ethics for the Austrian Press, feedback on our contributions is read by the editorial team without exception, checked for need for action, measures are taken if necessary, and finally answered.

Guideline for Disclosure and Correction of Errors

Errors are corrected as quickly as possible without exception. Corrections and retractions are also published where appropriate or necessary.

Guideline for Advertising

Our journalists work on a voluntary basis and earn their living in their respective primary professions. However, these only have a positive influence in the form of special expertise, but no negative influence in the form of biased representation. We ensure this.

Paid and unpaid advertising is always labeled as such in compliance with the law.

More Information

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