
AUDIT OVERIVEW
Promoting trust in journalism.
Media outlets committed to producing ethical journalism can achieve certification from the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) with an independent audit from AAM. JTI is a program developed by Reporters Without Borders that allows publishers to demonstrate their commitment to transparency and editorial standards.
AAM received accreditation from the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to become the first U.S.-based certifier for the JTI Standard in accordance with ISO/IEC 17065-2012 Conformity assessment—Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes, and services under the Journalism Trust Initiative’s certification program scheme.
Percentage of journalists who believe maintaining credibility as a trusted news source is the biggest challenge for journalism in the last 12 months
Source: 2022 Global State of the Media Report, Cision, May 2022
Percentage of North American journalists who believe the public has lost trust in the media
Source: 2022 Global State of the Media Report, Cision, May 2022
JOURNALISM TRUST INITIATIVE
How the Journalism Trust Initiative works.
This three-step process determines whether media outlets have processes in place to produce transparent, ethical journalism.

Self-Assessment
Get started by setting up your account on the JTI website. Then complete the self-assessment to determine your media outlet’s level of conformity with the JTI Standard and identify areas for improvement.

Public Disclosure
The media outlet publishes its self-assessment in the form of a Transparency Report to the JTI user interface. This makes the report public and available to the auditor to use during the certification process.

Independent Audit
The media outlet participates in a third-party audit by selecting AAM as a certifier to confirm the organization conforms with the JTI Standard. An audit is required for JTI certification.
CERTIFICATION ACTIVATION
Stand out as a JTI-certified publisher.
Media organizations can promote their certification via the JTI Mark and accompanying language about the certification on their promotional materials and website. The certification can be used as a competitive advantage because it signals their commitment to quality, transparency and adherence to the JTI Standard for journalism ethics. Contact JTI to learn how to get started.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Review answers to some common questions.
Credible, independent journalism has had to compete with fake news, misinformation, distrust and opacity. By creating the JTI Standard, JTI gives trusted media outlets a way to demonstrate their commitment to industry standards, ethics and transparency, and to help them stand out in the digital media landscape.
The JTI Standard is a set of transparency standards for the trustworthiness of news and information. It was designed by industry professionals representing major media outlets, professional organizations and non-government organizations and includes 18 clauses that cover the institutional and process level of journalistic production.
Any media outlet (print, digital or broadcast) that wants to self-assess their editorial processes and increase their transparency.
Media outlets can use the certification as a competitive advantage to stand out from other media outlets by demonstrating their commitment to quality, transparency and adherence to the JTI Standard for journalism ethics. Certified organizations can display the JTI Mark to let advertisers, agencies, government organizations and others know that they have been certified by JTI as being trusted, credible organizations.
Media outlets may complete the JTI self-assessment and publish a Transparency Report on the JTI interface without undergoing a third-party audit. However, an audit conducted by an accredited partner is required to achieve certification.
The JTI Standard is unique because its framework for editorial compliance includes third-party assurance. It complements existing professional norms and ethical codes by adding transparency and external accountability to inform human and algorithmic decision making in distributing and consuming news.
The certification is valid for two years. Both the media outlet and auditor receive notification before that date to alert them to the expiration.
JTI has a membership fee for media outlets to access the self-assessment tool and transparency report. AAM’s audit fees are based on the certification scope and the time frame and duration of the evaluation activities required by JTI. As a not-for-profit organization, AAM has designed the audit to be affordable to all size publishers with a pricing structure that scales with publisher size. RSF will distribute grants for news outlets based on their availability. Contact us to discuss any questions.
Visit JTI’s website to get started. JTI also plans to host regional workshops for media outlets to learn more about the certification process.
The accreditation of AAM opens up the market for certification in the United States and is an historic step for the Journalism Trust Initiative.
The JTI scheme includes requirements for independence and ethics, and ANAB’s third-party verification of conformity to all of these requirements will elevate accountability and reliability of media professionals and outlet services in their work.
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