J-Source

Should journos publicly reveal their salary?

Guardian columnist George Monbiot thinks so — and not just your salary, he writes, but every source of income. Book deals; how much is in your savings accounts; whether you charge rent to tenants — all of it. Guardian columnist George Monbiot thinks so — and not just your salary, he writes, but every source…

Guardian columnist George Monbiot thinks so — and not just your salary, he writes, but every source of income. Book deals; how much is in your savings accounts; whether you charge rent to tenants — all of it.

Guardian columnist George Monbiot thinks so — and not just your salary, he writes, but every source of income. Book deals; how much is in your savings accounts; whether you charge rent to tenants — all of it.

Here's what he says on his blog:

I have opened this registry because I believe that journalists should live by the standards they demand of others, among which are accountability and transparency. One of the most important questions in public life, which is asked less often than it should be, is “who pays?”

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I believe that everyone who steps into public life should be obliged to show on whose behalf they are speaking: in other words who is paying them, and how much. I would like to see journalists, like MPs, become subject to a mandatory register of interests. But until that time I hope to encourage other journalists to declare the sources of their income voluntarily – by declaring mine.

You can also check out the Guardian's article on the subject by John Plunkett. In the meantime, tell us: would you do it? And should we?