3 Basic Rules for Being Ethical

Alexandra Newman
an077811@ohio.edu

I think being objective is a very important part of being a journalist. It’s one of the first things you learn. It’s a good skill to have to make your stories stronger. The conflict comes in when you’re not sure what to call something, or you’re not sure if you should report something because it is so scandalous.

An example that comes up often is whether or not to call the Affordable Care Act “Obamacare." I have written several stories in which I talk about the Affordable Care Act. I start out by saying, “The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.” Then I continue to call it Obamacare throughout my story.

I made this ethical decision because I felt like most Americans just know it as Obamacare, and it is easier to say over and over again in a story than the Affordable Care Act. I didn’t think I was adding any bias at the time. After reading this article about weather or not to call it Obamacare, I realized that maybe the use of it makes it seem like you have an opposition to it. I actually don’t, and find it funny that I still find myself using the term just because it is easier.

Just because something is easier, does it make it the right thing to do? I am all for taking the easy route, but in a news story you’re not always getting your strongest story out there. You can make up quotes from people who don’t exist, you can Google something until you find the information instead of calling someone who would know the answer off hand, and you can even make up false details to add more to your story, but all those things are wrong to do and unethical. They may be easier than going out and finding the answer yourself, but when you’re a journalist you are trusted by many to report in the best way you can.

I think being objective comes into this idea of doing stuff the easy way. When you’re doing things fast and just throwing a story together you tend to only include a bare minimum of details. If you took some time to look into the story and spend more time finding all of the sides of the story you may find that there is an angle you would have missed it you didn’t take the time to look into the case fully. 

Here is an example of a reporter who made comments quickly, without having actual proof to back them up.

In this case he lost his job over the things he said. He wasn't informed enough and jumped to conclusions based on his opinions, not actual facts. So before sitting down to write a story, or put a package together for television, make sure you:

1. Have every side to the story possible.
2. Don't let your opinions intrude.
3. Don't take the easy route.

Please take these things into consideration during your journalistic career. I do.