Overt Codes of Ethics

Arielle J. Patterson
ap554710@ohio.edu

Values vs. Codes
As journalists, when we enter a certain job we agree to their codes of ethics. However, it is our values that make these codes come to life. If our values do not agree with a certain code then we fail to carry them out.

Public Perception
Today, media personnel are seen as dishonest, which makes it incredibly difficult for the public to trust us. According to a Pew Research article, the public believes that two-thirds of news organizations either favor one side, are inaccurate or are influenced by powerful people. As an observer of news I can see why the public would think this. Media outlets such as Fox or MSNBC make their ratings off of having opinionated and often very one-sided reporters and analysts. Part of the responsibility is on the public to seek out less bias news. The latter is on us as journalists. RTDNA has (in bold letters) the words "public trust" and "truth" in their code of ethics. They realize how important it is to make sure the information we are sending to the public is beneficial to them and truthful. Whether we, as journalists, have an opinion on a certain situation should not matter. It should always be the public first.

Image Courtesy of: prperspectives.tumblr.com

The Pew Research article also said that two-thirds of the public have found that news reports are often inaccurate. This really grinds my gears. The buzz word in class is always "accurate." Journalists should pride themselves on being 100 percent accurate as opposed to being the fastest. Yes, you may be able to tweet a byline for a story out quicker than someone else, but if you get even a shred of information wrong your credibility goes down the toilet. SPJ prides themselves on accuracy and making sure that all of their sources are credible and honest. This is why they are a well-known and legitimate organization.

I will admit; the public can be fickle. One minute they demand speed from journalists, and the next they want more accuracy and content. In the long run it will pay to be more accurate. One would be able to make a name for themselves as an honest journalist as opposed to the reporter who read stereotypical Asian names on television.

Not Just Journalists
Codes of ethics are important to anyone in the communications field. If you are in advertising you should uphold the same values as a journalists. While some ad companies do take advantage of the gullible public, an ethical strategist would portray as much truth as possible in advertisements. PRSA values themselves on their loyalty and expertise. They know that they are knowledgeable enough to give honest information to the public and keep the public's interest as priority one.

I was surprised to find out that the NPPA had a code of ethics as well. It is good to see that not all photographers will alter a photo to create "news" or for a quick buck. One part I really liked is that they added, "Do not intentionally sabotage the efforts of other journalists." This really stuck out to me because it reinforces the fact that we journalists need to stick together. Not just news and information but strategic communications and audio/visual as well.

Concrete Codes
Before reading, I did not actually think that there were written codes of ethics for the various media organizations. I assumed that they were just instilled in the values of journalists. I know, for example, never to plagiarize or put out information from a sketchy source. I feel like these codes are made public for the public. If the news audience could read these, maybe they would trust us more and realize that not every journalist is the same.