Ethics in Journalism

In my Comms 239 class, we discussed the importance of ethics in journalism. The group focused mainly on the Society of Professional Journalists’ four pillars of ethics.

1.       Seek the truth and report it

“If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.” –Albert Einstein http://tinyurl.com/ly9l8z

Truth should be simple, direct, and to the point. Truth does not have to be dressed up elaborately, it is just there.

2.       Minimize harm

We specifically talked about the Golden Rule. This is a simple and universal code that applies to all people and not just journalists. http://tinyurl.com/cur5xt

If you were on the other side of the microphone how would you want to be treated?

3.       Act Independently

If journalists don’t remain objective, readers will not trust the newspaper. If I wrote for the New York Times, and I attended a republican rally, readers will assume that I have a republican bias, even if I try to remain objective in my column.

4.       Journalists are accountable to their readers, viewers, listeners, and each other

The underlying principle here is to be transparent. Let the public know what you do and how you do it. Give follow-up websites and give people a chance to get involved.

People trust journalists and politicians that come across transparent. Obama knows this, and so gave this address. http://tinyurl.com/as2mrv

In class, we also discussed a few case studies in which ethics comes into play. We discussed each issue, and decided what would be the “ethical” thing to do. We got into heated debates, and not everyone agreed on every issue. This is when our personal morals come to play. We must look deep within ourselves and decide what is right and wrong.