Brooke Davis
Ethical Decision Making
What does ethical decision making mean? Why is it
important?
Ethical decision-making refers to the
process of evaluating and choosing among alternatives in a manner consistent
with ethical principles. In making ethical decisions, it is
necessary to perceive and eliminate unethical options and select the best ethical
alternative.
Importance of Ethical Decision Making in the Journalism World
Ethics are important in the journalism world because as journalists it is our duty to provide unbiased truths to the public. How can we
make sure that we are always truthful? Using our own personal code of ethics.
For example, here are some of the SPJ Code
of Ethics
- Take responsibility for the accuracy of your
work.
- Speed nor format excuses inaccuracy.
- Never deliberately distort facts or context.
On August 31st, 2002
Bob Steele published an article in the Poynter, “The 10 Questions to Make GoodEthical Decisions.”
2. What is my journalistic purpose?
3. What are my ethical concerns?
4. What organizational policies and
professional guidelines should I consider?
5. How can I include other people,
with different perspectives and diverse ideas, in the decision-making process?
6. Who are the stakeholders - those
affected by my decision? What are their motivations? Which are legitimate?
7. What if the roles were reversed?
How would I feel if I were in the shoes of one of the stakeholders?
8. What are the possible consequences
of my actions? Short term? Long term?
9. What are my alternatives to
maximize my truthtelling responsibility and minimize harm?
10. Can I clearly and fully justify
my thinking and my decision? To my colleagues? To the stakeholders? To the
public?
These 10 questions are great for both
creating a personal code of ethics and making good ethical decisions when stuck
with a dilemma or problem.
Ethical Decision-making model
 |
| Via Dimensions of Dental Hygiene |
In the picture above is a model for
ethical decision-making, and in my opinion is the quickest and easiest way to
decide between right and wrong using your personal code of ethics.
This is how I would use it...
Using the Ethical Decision-Making Model
- Always telling a story for what it is, not what I want it to be.
- Always having two credible sources to fact check my information before it is posted.
Scenario: My boss asks me to publish a breaking
news story immediately so we can be the first to get the story out, but I’m not sure if the information I received is factual. She
thinks it is, but I want to check first.
Step 1: Identify the problem. The
problem in this scenario is that my boss wants me to publish a story before
fact checking it.
Step 2: Collect Information. Publishing
this story could ruin my credibility if the information is not correct. Not
publishing the story could make my boss mad. What should I do?
Step 3: State the options. I have two
options. I can publish the story to make my boss happy, or I can wait until I
confirm the information in my story and potentially upset my boss.
Step 4: Apply Ethical Principles to
the Options. In my code of ethics I promise to always fact check my
information with two credible sources.
Step 5: Make the Decision. I would
choose to not publish the story right away because it is against my personal code of
ethics and it could give me a bad reputation as a journalist.
Step 6: Implement the decision. This means to follow
through with your decision and put it into effect. I would explain to my boss
why I am not publishing the story at the moment and face the consequences (even
if the consequence is just upsetting my boss).
While some argue that sometimes it's alright to go against your personal code of ethics, I disagree. What kind of journalist would I be if I didn't follow my
moral principles?
Below is an example of workplace ethics. via Kantola Training Solutions.
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