In The Race To Be The Best

By Katy Andersen 

ka100211@ohio.edu

Every journalist and news organization wants to be the first to break a story but how far should one go?  In the race to be the very best and deliver timely news, sometimes journalists can lose sight of what is and isn’t ethical.   

It has long been considered unethical in for newspapers to pay sources for information.  Television media outlets sometimes pay “licensing fees” in exchange for interviews and photographs.  Moreover, tabloids such as The Enquirer and TMZ have also been known to pay informants for information and photographs; however, companies such as these are not considered reliable news sources in the industry. 

http://journalism.about.com/od/ethicsprofessionalism/a/checkbookjournalism.htm

Most reputable news organizations do not pay sources for information. To do so can undermine the integrity of the information.  Once money is introduced into the reporting equation, it can corrupt the entire relationship between the journalist and the source.  Why would someone speak with a non-paying media source when they can receive money from another?  The moment that money becomes the motivator, it will remain the motivation and the story will be compromised.  It’s a slippery slope that never ends.

A conflict of interest arises when professional, personal and/or financial obligations or interests compete with the journalist's obligation to his outlet and audience.  For example, it is a conflict of interest when a journalist reports on his or her own business interest.  It is also a conflict of interest when a journalist is being paid to report on or “advertise” a business or when a journalist avoids reporting the full story in order to protect a friend.  Should a journalist just sweep a story under the rug because of a conflict of interest?  Journalists have an obligation to the public and need to be able to identify and avoid conflicts of interest entirely and report the whole truth.

Some news organizations make it a priority to maintain ethics in journalism; The New York Times is one example.  The New York Times closely guards its reputation for having authority and integrity in the news industry and strives to cover the news as impartially as possible, “without fear or favor”.  The New York Times’ employment policy states “no newsroom or editorial page employee may exploit for personal gain any nonpublic information acquired at work, or use his or her association with The Times to gain favor or advantage.  And second, no one may do anything that damages The Times’ reputation for strict neutrality in reporting on politics and government; in particular, no one may wear campaign buttons or display any other form of political partisanship while on the job.”

While it is important that television stations and media group owners establish clearly defined rules for their employees to avoid conflicts of interest and maintain integrity with the public, it is equally important that journalists maintain their own personal code of ethics in order to maintain credibility.  Just as important as reporting the truth, journalists must maintain independence and not take sides or show bias.   When journalists compromise their independence, they lose their own integrity and everything they report becomes suspect.  The bottom line is that the journalist’s job is to do what is in the best interest of the public.