It is against ethical journalistic practice for journalists to submit copies of stories before publication and it is a breach of our hard-won media independence and freedom. The media (and Bizcommunity.com journalists) may sometimes contact a source to do technical fact-checking and to confirm quotes but - on this rare instance - this may entail only the reading back of the pertinent information and not the entire article. For more, especially regarding cleaning up or "massaging" quotes to change meaning, see the Essentials of Reuters sourcing. According to the Professional Journalists Association of South Africa (ProJourn): "Organisations that insist on perpetrating such practices clearly have no understanding of the role of a free and independent media in the economic sector, namely, that journalists gather and disseminate information that all role players can use in the course of doing their jobs and making decisions. "While we accept that journalists may require pre-publication clarification and assistance from those they are writing about on technical points only, interfering in the editorial process robs all participants of unbiased, accurate information and devalues any coverage organisations that insist on this may receive." A luta continua! Simone Puterman (@SimoneBiz) Managing editor
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