Guidelines
Welcome to Animals & Media Style Guide
The time has come and we’re ready to rock the media world with a new style guide that focuses on animals and the best ways in which to represent them in a posthumanist digital age. We subtitled this “A Style Guide for Giving Voice to the Voiceless” based on the Society of Professional Journalists’ ethical mandate for journalists to be a “voice for the voiceless.” We don’t mean to imply that nonhuman animals lack a voice of their own or abilities to communicate. But they do rely on humans, media producers especially, to amplify that voice for society, not only by allowing animals to speak for themselves via audio-visual media but also by selecting appropriate human spokespeople to ensure animals’ interests are more frequently and fairly included in popular culture. Let’s open our minds and hearts to start listening to the more-than-human world to which we belong!
Our Guidelines
We have articulated guidelines designed to help editors and journalists craft cutting edge, important stories on animal-related issues in ways that meet journalistic criteria of accuracy, fairness, and completeness. Read the full journalism guidelines here.
While advertising plays an important economic and informative role, it can also be harmful if it distracts or dissuades consumers from engaging in sustainable and compassionate practices. Advertisers can be more socially and ecologically responsible by following our Advertising Guidelines. Read them here.
Communicating with key publics is not only essential to businesses but is also the backbone of much animal and environmental protection advocacy as well. Learn how to earn the public’s trust, and create open, honest dialogue that fosters informed decision-making through our PR Guidelines here.
Entertainment is a core activity in public life, which means it is fair to inquire whether entertainment programming contributes to the problem and whether it can be part of a solution for positive social change. Our Entertainment Media guidelines found here provide suggestions.