1. Introduction

Vermont Public Radio holds the public's trust as a news source, and as an integral community and cultural institution in the region. VPR's employees are the backbone of the services the station provides, and their personal and professional excellence reflects on the station and contributes to VPR's reputation.

This policy embodies a spirit of trust that VPR has in its staff to protect and elevate the station's community reputation, and it reflects the trust that the community has in the services provided by VPR. All employees of the station are expected to uphold and reinforce these expectations to avoid conflicts of interest and to protect their own personal and community interests.

2. Purpose

Our purpose for authoring a code of ethics and conduct policy is to protect/enhance VPR's credibility and reputation as a news and cultural public institution. This policy will serve as an umbrella policy of clear ethical and behavioral standards, as well as a guide for business behavior to ensure ethical conduct.

3. Scope

This policy applies to full- and part-time employees of Vermont Public Radio. Certain employees/departments may be held to additional standards and expectations as communicated by Department heads.

Journalism is at the core of VPR's mission and values, and the NPR News Code of Ethics, NPR News Social Media Guidelines, VPR Editorial Policy, and other standing policies of VPR, clearly communicate the expectations of all news and programming employees.

4. Policy

Officers and Managers Commitment to Ethics

• Officers and Managers of Vermont Public Radio will set a prime example. In all business practice, honesty and integrity will be a top priority for officers and managers.
• Officers and managers will have an open door policy and welcome suggestions and concerns from employees. This will allow employees to feel comfortable discussing any issues and will alert officers and managers to concerns within the work force.
• Officers and managers will disclose any conflict of interests regarding their position at Vermont Public Radio.

All Employees Commitment to Ethics

• Vermont Public Radio employees will treat everyone fairly, have mutual respect, promote a team environment, and avoid the intent and appearance of unethical or compromising practices.
• Every employee must apply effort and intelligence in maintaining this commitment.
• Employees must disclose any conflict of interests with regard to their position at Vermont Public Radio.

• These activities may be permitted, on a case by case basis, as long as they don't pose a conflict or the appearance of a conflict, or reflect badly on VPR, including online.
• Employees must take measures to ensure their activities are clearly personal and not a reflection on VPR. Examples of this include not identifying oneself as a VPR employee in a way that would lead to confusion, and not wearing VPR gear when involved in a situation that could reflect poorly on VPR.

Honoraria, talent fees and gifts:

• All Employees of Vermont Public Radio are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the current policies on Honoraria, talent fees and gifts.

Outside Employment:

• All Employees of Vermont Public Radio are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the current policies on Outside Employment.

Social Media/Networking: The NPR News Social Media Guidelines established in fall 2009 are comprehensive and reflect VPR's thinking about social media participation. The following wording is borrowed liberally from that policy and applies to all VPR employees:

• Employees must recognize that everything written or received on a social media site is public. Anyone with access to the web can get access to activity on social media sites. Regardless of how careful employees are in trying to keep them separate, professional and personal lives overlap in the online world.
• Employees should use the highest level of privacy tools available to control access to personal activity when appropriate. However, those tools are not full proof and the possibility exists for someone to hack those tools and make public private information. Employees should not be complacent with their online activity.
• Employees shall conduct themselves in social media forums with an eye to how their behavior or comments might appear if VPR was called upon to defend them as a news organization. In other words, employees should not behave any differently online than they would in any other public setting.
• While VPR strongly encourages linking to VPR.net, employees may not repost VPR copyrighted material to social networks without prior permission. For example, it is okay to link from a blog or Facebook profile to an employee's story on the VPR site, but the full text or audio should not be copied onto a personal site or Web page. 
• Remember that the terms of service of a social media site apply to what is posted and gathered on that site. The terms might allow for material that an employee posts to be used in a different way than intended. Additionally, law enforcement officials may be able to obtain by subpoena anything posted or gathered on a site without consent -- or perhaps even the knowledge of the person who made the posting.
• Employees must not advocate for political or other polarizing issues online. This extends to joining online groups or using social media in any form (including a Facebook page or a personal blog) to express personal views on a political or other controversial issue.
• An employee's simple participation in some online groups could be seen to indicate that they endorse the views expressed by that group. Employees should consider whether they can accomplish the same purposes by just observing a group's activity, rather than becoming a member. If an employee does join a group, it should be made clear that it's to seek information or story ideas. And if an employee "friends" or joins a group representing one side of an issue, do so for a group representing the competing viewpoint, when reasonable to do so.
• Realize that social media communities have their own culture, etiquette, and norms, and be respectful of them.
• If writing about meetings and gatherings at VPR - employees should always ask first if the forum is on or off the record before distributing information or content about it.

And a final caution - when in doubt, an employee should consult with their direct supervisor or a member of the Senior Staff. Social media is a very dynamic environment, and VPR fully expects that this section of this policy will be revised as needed.

Company Awareness

• Promotion of ethical conduct within interpersonal communications of employees will be rewarded.
• Vermont Public Radio will promote a trustworthy and honest atmosphere to reinforce the vision of ethics within the company.

Maintaining Ethical Practices

• Vermont Public Radio will reinforce the importance of the integrity message and the tone will start at the top. Every employee, manager, and director will consistently maintain an ethical stance and support ethical behavior.
• Employees at Vermont Public Radio should encourage open dialogue, get honest feedback and treat everyone fairly, with honesty and objectivity.
• Vermont Public Radio reserves the right to decide what's a conflict and what's not, and that determination will be final.

Unethical Behavior

• Vermont Public Radio will avoid the intent and appearance of unethical or compromising practice in relationships, actions and communications.
• Vermont Public Radio will not tolerate harassment or discrimination.
• Unauthorized use of company materials, confidential information, donor lists, or technical information integral to the success of VPR will not be tolerated.
• Vermont Public Radio will not permit impropriety at any time and we will act ethically and responsibly in accordance with laws.
• Vermont Public Radio employees will not use business relationships for personal gain.
• Vermont Public Radio's President and CEO shall have the sole authority to determine if there has been an infraction of this policy and/or if unethical behavior has taken place.

5. Enforcement

• Any infractions of this code of ethics will not be tolerated and Vermont Public Radio will act quickly in correcting the issue if the ethical code is broken.
• Any employee found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.