SWEPT OFF THE MAP

ETHICAL REPORTING BOUNDARIES


This document outlines the professional standards and ethical values guiding our work as journalists in the Swept Off the Map Project. It establishes practical guidelines for our interactions during reporting, clearly defining our responsibilities, expectations, and boundaries. Our goal is to hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of integrity and humanity to ensure that our journalism honors the trust of the unhoused communities we work with and accurately represents their experiences.

We define community engagement as any interaction with the people we work with. To ensure our engagement approach both reckons with traditional journalism’s violent past with the unhoused community and creates a future where journalism belongs to everyone, we’ve developed an internal set of guidelines for interviewing encampment residents on the record, as well as taking photos and videos. Our two biggest guiding frameworks are trauma-informed journalism and community-engaged reporting. The guidelines are led by our experience, as well as the Berkeley Protocol, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics, and the DART Center on trauma-informed reporting.



Our Core Values We believe authentic community engagement takes time, intentionality and space to evolve. We resist rushing this process and will not operate on timelines that don’t accommodate our community. We cultivate relationships, not transactions. The status quo is extractive reporting and has led to distrust between the public and journalists, dehumanizing the interaction between community and media. We believe journalism should cultivate a network of relationships that generates accountability and shares resources.

Trauma-informed reporting This practice recognizes that encampment sweeps are inherently harmful and that discussing them can retraumatize those affected. As journalists, we have a responsibility to understand the emotional impact of our presence and our questions, both in the moment and after we leave. Following the guidelines of trauma-informed journalism means prioritizing the mental health and stability of our interviewees above the story itself, and taking intentional steps to ensure they feel respected and supported, whether or not they choose to speak with us.

In practice, trauma-informed reporting can look like:

  • Set clear containers: 
    We are committed to setting and maintaining containers around discussions of traumatic events to help enable interviewees to keep their traumatic experiences in a space and time that feels comfortable to them. We do this by opening and closing interviews in thoughtful and intentional ways 

  • Let interviewees lead: 
    The people we talk to guide the conversation, we are never forcing anyone to recount traumatic experiences. If someone doesn’t want to talk about something, we do not dig

  • Mind our questions: 
    We are mindful of the ways in which we ask questions


Community-engaged reportingCommunity-engaged reporting seeks to rebalance traditional power dynamics in journalism by listening to community needs, co-creating content that reflects lived priorities, and building sustained relationships based on trust and transparency.

In practice, community-engaged reporting can look like:


PROFESSIONAL PRINCIPLES



Accountability/transparencyWe clearly document our process, decisions, and actions, and accept responsibility for our journalism in the short-term and long-term. Accountability and transparency manifest  within our reporting via the principle of informed consent. Informed consent means that individuals understand what they are agreeing to, and make that decision freely, without pressure. Consent is an ongoing, revocable process, it must be freely given, specific, fully informed, and can be withdrawn at any time. This standard applies not only to interviews, but especially to photography, video, and audio recordings.

Best practices: 

  • Transparent Communication: 
    We clearly explain the purpose of our project, how stories will be used, and who the intended audiences are.

  • Informed Options: 
    We offer the choice of anonymity or pseudonyms and explain the potential implications of each, including how anonymity may or may not protect them in digital circulation.

  • Consent for Visual Media: 
    We ask permission before taking any photographs or recordings, and we reiterate that consent can be withdrawn at any time

  • Reconfirmation Before Publishing: 
    We try to confirm consent again before publishing any material, particularly visual content.



Competency

We are committed to maintaining the highest standards in our journalistic, investigative, and multimedia practices. Competency involves technical skill and accuracy, ethical depth, cultural sensitivity, and continual self-education.

Best practices:

  • Rigorous Fact-Checking: 
    We try to verify all claims through multiple credible sources and try not to publish unsubstantiated information

  • Multimedia Integrity: 
    We ensure that photography, audio, and video are used ethically and edited responsibly. We avoid manipulative framing, selective editing, or sensationalism that distorts the truth.

  • Cultural Competence: 
    We engage with communities respectfully and patiently. We build relationships with care and consistency.

  • Continual Learning: 
    We hold ourselves accountable to evolving standards



Objectivity

Community-engaged reporting seeks to rebalance traditional power dynamics in journalism by listening to community needs, co-creating content that reflects lived priorities, and building sustained relationships based on trust and transparency.

In practice, community-engaged reporting can look like:


Legality

Community-engaged reporting seeks to rebalance traditional power dynamics in journalism by listening to community needs, co-creating content that reflects lived priorities, and building sustained relationships based on trust and transparency.

In practice, community-engaged reporting can look like:


ETHICAL PRINCIPLES


When considering whether or not to approach people for on-the-record interviews, we remember the fact that many people are uncomfortable speaking to the press, and that many unhoused people have had negative or even traumatic experiences when interacting with media, which can compound that discomfort for unhoused neighbors.



Dignity and Respect
We work with respect for the fundamental dignity of every individual. We recognize that the people we engage with are not subjects, but human beings with agency, histories, and boundaries. Dignity and respect shape how we show up, how we listen, and how we represent others. Our goal is to ensure that participation in our work is always consensual, affirming, and never extractive. 

Best practices:

  • Meet people where they are at: 
    We center the needs, capacities, and comfort levels of those we work with. We adapt our methods to honor their pace, priorities, and presence.

  • Voluntary Participation:
    We never pressure anyone to engage with us. Involvement in our project is always optional, and aid, services, or support are never contingent on agreeing to an interview or being recorded.

  • Respect for Space and Time:
    We are intentional about when and where we approach people.

  • Ethical Photography and Videography:
    We only capture and share images of people that reflect them in a dignified, respectful, and accurate light. We avoid images that sensationalize, dehumanize, or portray individuals in moments of vulnerability without full understanding and consent.

  • Mutual Support:
    We recognize that trust is earned. We listen more than we speak, and build relationships rooted in mutual respect.



Humility
Practicing humility means approaching our work with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to be challenged. We do not presume to know what’s best for the people we report on, instead, we listen and reflect. 

Best practices:

  • Creating space for feedback: 
    Actively listening to why people would or wouldn't want to talk with us. What were the concerns and how can we adapt?

  • Letting go of control: 
    Reminding ourselves that we are not totally knowledgeable on this.


InclusivityWe seek out diverse voices and examine how those voices are included, heard, and reflected. We aim to co-construct stories with interviewees and we create opportunities for involvement that respect different communication styles, levels of access, and comfort.

Best practices:

  • Diverse sourcing: 
    We actively seek out a diverse range of voices to better understand how different identities shape people’s experiences of encampment sweeps.

  • Multiple ways to participate: 
    written, verbal. visual, anonymous, etc

  • Multiple contact methods: 
    text, phone, email, in-person check-ins, etc

  • Accessible formats: 
    printed copies, photos, etc

  • Collaborative representation: 
    we ask participants how they want to be represented, including how their name, image, voice, or story is used 


Professional BoundariesWe work to maintain clear professional boundaries with people we interview. This can help us build trust and make clear that our role remains focused on journalism and appropriate support, so as to not overstep into too personal involvement or create confusion around our responsibilities. 

Examples:

  • Work-focused relationships:  
    We engage respectfully and empathetically with community members and do not get too involved in personal business. 

  • Come prepared: 
    We arrive at interviews and field visits with basic necessities (e.g., water, consent forms, resource handouts

  • Define our role: 
    While we may connect people with services or share information about mutual-aid resources, our primary function is to report. When needs exceed our capacity, we refer individuals to trusted local organizations.

  • No personal contact:
    We never give out personal phone numbers. All follow-up or scheduling is handled via our email addresses.


SOURCES


Society of Professional Journalists Ethical Guidelines
This guide is widely used in newsrooms across the United States. It was first written in 1926, and was last updated in 2014. It is a bit inadequate for the digital age, and while it lays out a lot of good ideals, it lacks detailed protocol. 

New York Times Ethical Reporting Guidelines

Berkeley Protocol

TRAUMA & JOURNALISM A Guide For Journalists, Editors & Managers
The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma Handbook on trauma-informed journalism. 




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