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What is the NUJ Code of Conduct?
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Code of Conduct is the ethical framework that every NUJ member agrees to uphold when they join the union. It sets out 12 core principles covering accuracy, source protection, intrusion, harassment, discrimination, payments for information, conflicts of interest, plagiarism, correction, and press freedom. Unlike a press regulator’s code, it is drafted by journalists — not editors or publishers — and enforced through the union’s own disciplinary process rather than by an external body.
The Code has existed in various forms since 1936 and has been revised several times. The current version is concise — roughly 400 words — but it carries significant weight: it is referenced in employment disputes, used as a benchmark by editorial standards bodies, and cited in training programmes across UK journalism schools. Even journalists who are not NUJ members benefit from understanding it, because courts, tribunals, and editors frequently treat it as evidence of the professional standard.
The NUJ represents around 30,000 journalists across print, broadcast, digital, and freelance sectors. For a full clause-by-clause analysis with worked examples, see our complete NUJ Code guide.
When the NUJ Code matters most
- 1When you receive an editorial instruction you believe is unethical — the Code gives you formal grounds to refuse.
- 2When deciding how to handle a confidential source, particularly under legal pressure to disclose.
- 3When reporting on vulnerable people — victims of crime, the bereaved, children — and determining what intrusion is justified.
- 4When you are offered a payment, gift, or future work that could compromise your editorial independence.
- 5When a complaint is made against you by a fellow journalist, member of the public, or your own union branch.
- 6When you are representing yourself in an employment dispute and need to demonstrate that your conduct met the professional standard.
- 7When you discover an error and need to understand your obligation to correct it promptly and prominently.
The 12 principles in summary
The following summaries are for orientation. Always read the full text at nuj.org.uk for the authoritative wording.
1. Accuracy
A journalist shall at all times defend the principle of freedom of the press and other media. They shall strive to ensure that the information they disseminate is fair and accurate, avoid the expression of comment and conjecture as established fact, and falsification by distortion, selection or misrepresentation.
2. Protecting sources
A journalist shall protect confidential sources of information and shall not disclose them without the express consent of the source.
3. Intrusion
Only exceptional public interest can override the normally paramount interests of individuals who have not sought publicity, particularly children, the bereaved, and victims of crimes or disasters.
4. Harassment and subterfuge
A journalist shall obtain information, photographs and illustrations only by straightforward means unless there is a clear public interest justification and other means have been tried or not available.
5. Discrimination
A journalist shall not originate material likely to cause substantial offence on grounds including sex, race, colour, creed, disability, or sexual orientation, unless justified by public interest.
6. Payments for information
A journalist shall not pay or offer to pay for information to witnesses in active criminal proceedings without authority from senior editorial management, and in full awareness of the relevant law.
7. Dangerous material
A journalist shall do nothing which entails intrusion into anybody's private grief and distress unless justified by overriding consideration of the public interest.
8. Gifts and conflicts
A journalist shall not accept a bribe or allow any gift, advantage, promise of future employment, or personal interest to influence their professional work.
9. Plagiarism
A journalist shall not reproduce another journalist's work without consent; shall not plagiarise.
10. Correction
A journalist shall correct published errors promptly and with appropriate prominence.
11. Press freedom
A journalist shall at all times uphold and defend the principle of media freedom — the right to report facts, express opinions, and to protect sources of information.
12. Member conduct
A journalist shall not take private advantage of information gained in the course of their duties, before the information is public knowledge.
NUJ Code vs IPSO, IMPRESS and Ofcom
| Framework | Who it binds | Enforced by | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| NUJ Code | NUJ members (individuals) | NUJ Ethics Council | Union membership obligation |
| IPSO Editors' Code | IPSO member publications | IPSO (on complaint) | Contract with publishers |
| IMPRESS Standards Code | IMPRESS member publications | IMPRESS (on complaint) | Contract with publishers |
| Ofcom Broadcasting Code | Licensed broadcasters + ODPS | Ofcom (statutory) | Communications Act 2003 |
A key distinction: the IPSO and IMPRESS codes are industry codes written by or for publishers. The NUJ Code is written by journalists and exists to protect journalistic values — including from pressure by employers. An NUJ member working at an IPSO-regulated title is simultaneously subject to both frameworks, but the enforcement routes and sanctions are entirely separate.
Red flags — when you may be at risk of a breach
- Your editor is pressuring you to publish something you believe is inaccurate or unverified.
- You are being asked to reveal the identity of a confidential source.
- You have accepted a gift, hospitality, or promise of future work from a subject of your reporting.
- You used deception or misrepresentation to obtain access or information without considering whether public interest justified it.
- You have reproduced substantial parts of another journalist's work without attribution or consent.
- You discovered a significant error and delayed correcting it, or corrected it without appropriate prominence.
- You disclosed private information about someone gained in a professional capacity before it was public.
NUJ Code compliance checklist
- Every factual claim in my story is accurate to the best of my knowledge and I have evidence to support it.
- I have not presented opinion or conjecture as established fact.
- I have not disclosed or agreed to disclose any confidential source.
- Where I used subterfuge or misrepresentation, I can document the overriding public interest justification and why other means were unavailable.
- I have not accepted gifts, payment, or promises that could influence my editorial judgment on this story.
- I have not plagiarised or reproduced another journalist's original work without consent and attribution.
- If I have discovered an error in previously published work, I have corrected it promptly and with appropriate prominence.
- I have not used private information gained professionally for personal advantage before it was public.
- I have considered whether reporting on this person intrudes on their private grief, and if so, whether the public interest justification is robust.
Ethics decision tool
Use our ethics flowchart to work through a difficult editorial decision step by step — including NUJ Code compliance.
Open Ethics FlowchartThe NUJ disciplinary process
Complaints about alleged Code breaches by NUJ members are investigated by the NUJ’s Ethics Council. A complaint can be brought by another NUJ member, a branch, or in some circumstances by a member of the public. The process broadly follows these stages:
- Complaint lodged — in writing to NUJ head office, setting out the alleged breach and evidence.
- Initial assessment — the Ethics Council considers whether the complaint falls within the Code and is not vexatious.
- Member notified — the subject of the complaint receives the allegation and is given a reasonable period to respond.
- Investigation — the Council reviews the evidence, may seek further information, and may invite oral representations.
- Finding — the Council makes a finding. Sanctions range from no action, to a formal warning, suspension, or expulsion.
- Appeal — the member can appeal a sanction to the NUJ’s National Executive Council.
Common mistakes
- Confusing the NUJ Code with IPSO's Editors' Code — they bind different people and are enforced differently.
- Assuming the NUJ Code only matters if you are complained against — it is also a tool you can use to resist unethical instructions.
- Thinking the Code does not apply to freelancers — it applies to all NUJ members regardless of employment status.
- Underestimating the corrections obligation — a brief, buried correction when a prominent one is warranted is itself a potential breach.
- Assuming non-NUJ members are immune from any ethical accountability — courts and tribunals will still apply professional standards benchmarks.
- Overlooking source protection when asked to hand over notes, recordings, or communications to legal teams.