... adopted in 1944 , the Australian Journalists Association devised an eight point code of ethics which was 'an early attempt to set down some specific rules for ethical journalistic practice' (White,Sally, Reporting in Australia 1996, p.286). Since journalism's very own self-regulatory judicial system was introduced into the profession the code has been revised and updated to accommodate for new ways of thinking and new trends in society. The notion of allowing the press exclusive freedoms and rights can be traced back to the age of enlightenment in which 'the press's capacity to argue for a new right of freedom was both enhanced by, and part of, the radical shifts in philosophic thinking of the Age of Enlightenment when authoritarian regimes in Europe were challenged' (Hurst, John, White sally, Ethics and the Australian News Media, p.14). In 1984 the code was expanded and revised in a manner that saw the code place ...

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