The title, Ethsix*, refers to the sixth code of ethics (eth-six) from the National Association of Social Workers. This sixth code is the responsibility to advocate on behalf of social justice. The stories in Ethsix* are complex and often connected to larger systemic forces that are not easily covered in the time frame given to reporters for a daily or even weekly publication. We seek to fill this gap with media coverage that addresses issues with depth and integrity. The artwork is included in order to balance the heavy editorial content and provide yet another link to an important community with important viewpoints on the state of our city and social justice. Ethsix* has worked upon an idea that the social justice, the just share and fair treatment for those in need, can not be realized or understood if there is no public awareness. Ethsix* was awarded the Society of Professional Journalists best student magazine for our premier 2006 issue.
Though a San Francisco based pubolication, Ethsix* magazine was born out of the University of California Berkeley graduate schools of Journalism and Social Welfare, where the first issue was developed and produced with a generous Carnegie Grant for interdisciplinary journalism. Now entering the third year, Ethsix* has stretched its wings outside the academic institution in order to include a broader spectrum of participants in the process and production of the publication while retaining the core ethical motivation of the project.
Ethsix* couples the insight of those working in the front lines of social service with the narrative skills of journalists to create “unbroken” news on issues such as undocumented immigrant youth and a historical perspective of institutions for the mentally ill. Local artists contributed original work in response to themes of the invisible issues from penitentiaries to the domestic violence. All work is developed along side the Ethsix* art and editorial staff in order to engage the participants in the ethical questions that arise in covering sensitive social issues via image or word. Story leads are generated through submission pitches as well as social work focus groups to identify the most acute and least covered social issues. Local artists submit as well as take assignments based on the thematic concepts in the publication.