Is Money the Motive?

Alexis Bartolomucci
ab395310@ohio.edu

(source: corruptionbribery.com)

After reading all three articles, I was really put off by everything they had to say. Journalists these days are putting their credibility and integrity on the line for a few extra dollars from different companies and businesses so the journalist will say something good about them.

Bribery
You hear about bribery all the time, no matter if it has to do with journalism or not. If someone has money then they will want power to go along with it, because what is money without any power? Wealthy people will dish out money like it's candy to people, especially journalists, who will make them sound good and give them a good reputation about something they may be doing with their money. It doesn't seem to matter how hard anyone tries, bribery is something that will never go away, and it cannot be prevented as long as one person has something of interest to offer another person.

Reasons
There are several reasons as to why a journalist might accept a bribe. As I was doing some more research on this topic, I came across this website, which gives some reasons as to how it can be stopped and opinions of others on why journalists accept bribes. Journalists don't receive a very high yearly income, and if you have a family to support, bills that need paid or any other reason that you would need money, that could be hard to do with such a low income. Another reason journalists could accept bribes is for the sole fact that they just don't care. Some journalists care more about the money they could be making than having a solid reputation and good work.

Pressure
Journalists always have a large amount of pressure on them to be accurate and quick. They have pressure from the audience, their employer and the information or source they are reporting on. Several different pressures of journalism can be found anywhere you look. All journalists want to be seen as being good people that you can trust. If you're accepting money from others to do a good story, does that make you trustworthy anymore? The pressure could be so high anyone could crack under it.

Preventative Measures
There isn't a lot that can be done to prevent journalists from accepting bribes. Yes, there is the ethical value behind it, but that doesn't stop many people. Some news companies have come up with different rules and contracts that prevent journalists from getting any other compensation aside from what the news station is already paying them. In the Public Relations Issues article authors discuss some measures that have been taken to prevent bribes. You as a journalist just have to think to yourself, is it really worth it? If you feel as if it's worth it then go ahead and accept the bribe, but just take into consideration of the consequences. If taking the bribe isn't worth it, then you're probably making the best decision in the end, even if you won't be making as much money.