Zee Zest, a leading lifestyle website, is committed to delivering high-quality, engaging, and informative content across Food, Travel, Culture, Wellness and Lifestyle and our editors play a crucial role in maintaining the organisation and the brand’s standards and reputation.
Zee Zest Code Of Journalistic Conduct
This code of conduct aims to provide all employees and contributors (freelance or part time) of Zee Zest with appropriate guidelines for professional conduct. Our editors play a crucial role in maintaining the publication’s standards and reputation, and this document outlines the principles that they would require to adhere to in order to uphold the integrity, professionalism, and excellence of Zee Zest.
Core Principles
1. Integrity and Honesty
All editors, writers, contributors – freelance or part time –are to uphold basic journalistic ethics and ensure that all content published on Zee Zest is accurate, truthful, presented correctly, and free from any form of deceit or misinformation. Plagiarism, fabrication, and manipulation of information are strictly prohibited.
2. Objectivity and Fairness
Our editors will strive to maintain objectivity and fairness in all articles. Personal biases or opinions shall not influence content, and every piece will present a balanced perspective, especially on controversial topics.
3. Respect and Sensitivity
Respect for individuals, cultures, religion, and communities is paramount. Our editors are expected to avoid content that could be considered discriminatory, offensive, or insensitive to any group or individual. This includes language, imagery and tone.
Editorial Guidelines
1. Content Quality
Research: All blogs must be thoroughly researched, with credible sources cited wherever applicable. Subjects such as health, especially if it deals with any sort of medical condition, treatment, suggestion etc will have to be verified by a credible source such as a medical practitioner and/or a published paper by an academic institute or publication of repute. Any lifestyle and/or entertainment related subjects will have to be verified with regards to dates, names, locations, contact details etc.
Accuracy: Facts and data such as dates, location, contact details etc, will have to be double-checked for accuracy.
Originality: Editors will ensure all content is original. Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated. All sources will need to be attributed and also to have more than one source to avoid being misled by a single source.
Zero fabrication: No article – written, images, graphics or videos – can be fictitious. Writers/editors may not use alternate names, pseudonyms, or alter facts to hide a person’s identity. Terms such as “industry expert” cannot be used to conceal the concerned person’s affiliations.
2. Ethical Reporting
Transparency: Disclosing any potential conflicts of interest or affiliations that may influence the content.
Confidentiality: Respect confidentiality of sources and sensitive information.
Fair representation: Ensure that all voices, especially those of underrepresented groups, are fairly represented.
3. Multimedia Integration
Images: Use high-quality, relevant images that enhance the content. Ensure all images are properly credited and sourced. Photographs taken in house will always be done so with the consent of the subject.
Videos: Integrate videos where appropriate, ensuring they are relevant and enhance the reader’s experience.
Infographics: Utilise infographics to present data and information in an engaging and easily digestible format.
4. Engagement
Comments: Respond to reader comments and feedback in a respectful and professional manner.
Social Media: Actively engage with the audience on social media platforms, promoting content and fostering discussions.
5. Responsiveness
Queries: Address reader queries and concerns promptly and thoroughly.
Corrections: If errors are identified in published content, correct them promptly and transparently.
Legal and Compliance Policy
1. Copyright and Intellectual Property
Respect: Respect all copyright laws and intellectual property rights.
Permissions: Obtain necessary permissions for using third-party content.
2. Privacy
Data Protection: Ensure the privacy and security of personal data collected from readers.
Compliance: Adhere to all relevant data protection laws and regulations.
Continuous Improvement
1. Training and Development
Learning: Stay updated with the latest trends, tools, and best practices in digital journalism and content creation.
Workshops: Participate in training sessions and workshops to enhance editorial skills.
2. Innovation
Trends: Monitor industry trends and incorporate innovative approaches to keep Zee Zest content fresh and relevant.
Feedback Loop: Establish a feedback loop with the editorial team to continuously improve content quality and relevance.
By adhering to this Code of Conduct, Editors at Zee Zest contribute to maintaining the highest standards of journalism and content creation. This will ensure that Zee Zest remains a trusted and respected source of lifestyle information, setting us apart from our competitors. Together, we intend to create content that inspires, informs, and engages our audience while upholding the core values of a digital media publication.
Meet The Core Zee Zest Team
Paramveer Singh (Product Head, Zee Zest)
Worked extensively on digital platform, built products & team from ground up for over 20+ years for startups & multinational corporations. A passionate individual about understanding users, motivation, attitude, culture and imbibe these in use cases to design engaging and innovative products across digital platforms and industries.
Anannya Chatterjee (Editor, Zee Zest)
Dedicated journalist with a passion for fashion, food, travel, books, theatre, music and art. Adept storyteller with more than 13 years of commended performance as a lifestyle reporter and featured writer in the digital and print domain who treats news, features and events with equal passion and thrives within deadline-intensive, 24X7 newsroom environment.
Priyadarshini Nandy (Features Editor, Zee Zest)
A media professional in the lifestyle segment, Priyadarshini comes with nearly 20 years of experience across various leading publications in both print and digital formats. And while Priyadarshini focuses primarily on food writing, her interests also include in travel, art & culture, music and cinema.