ps988612@ohio.edu
For those of us who help hold up
the broad category of journalism, ethical reasoning in our minds is something that
we see as second nature. The argument of “I’m a journalist, I serve to speak
the truth,” is one we stand by. Yet ethics as a whole is a universe we can
never fully understand as its ramifications are ever-changing. If ethics is a
universal, how can we ever truly know how to navigate it? That is the question
young journalists and seasoned journalists alike wrestle with every day.
Photo courtesy of: Tenth Amendment Center
Watch Your Step
Many news sources and organizations see transparency as their safety net. If they mess up, they can apologize and let their audience know where and exactly how they did it. If their audience questions their credibility, they can do the same. Poynter journalist Kelly McBride writes that transparency will help to guide the focus of the audience from the validity of a source to the idea of the issue being spoken. After all, wondering if you're getting the truth from a particular source does impede the comprehension of whatever you're consuming.
Ethics is the gray area of journalism and always explaining oneself may not always be the best of ethical decision making. This then brings to mind the question of when is it alright to stand behind one's work and when is it necessary to explain why the work was written. In my opinion, transparency seems like a heavy burden to a truth-hungry journalist. Try thinking of having a conversation with someone about an account you have witnessed and are speaking of and then having to prove your validity by having to explain every step of the way that led you to to the knowledge of the issue you're speaking about.
Ethics is the gray area of journalism and always explaining oneself may not always be the best of ethical decision making. This then brings to mind the question of when is it alright to stand behind one's work and when is it necessary to explain why the work was written. In my opinion, transparency seems like a heavy burden to a truth-hungry journalist. Try thinking of having a conversation with someone about an account you have witnessed and are speaking of and then having to prove your validity by having to explain every step of the way that led you to to the knowledge of the issue you're speaking about.
Fix It Before It Breaks
While reading and listening about ethical missteps within the journalism industry I often sincerely wonder if the journalists and organizations we study ever took a class on ethical reasoning or if they have any common sense at all. Sure, the ethics of it all seem obvious to me now, but will they when I'm actually in the field working and striving to make ends meet?
Many reporters value ethical reasoning and abhor the idea of fabricating or plagiarizing, but it seems understandable to realize that sometimes our superiors value content, quantity and speed over an ethically sound story. When the job's on the line and the deadline is fast approaching, there are journalists who will overlook or fabricate their work in order to meet their goals. One of the ideas I found particularly attractive in one of the readings for class was to avoid this problem is to simply not tell an editor about a story until you're sure you have all the facts right and everything is up to your standards.
Many reporters value ethical reasoning and abhor the idea of fabricating or plagiarizing, but it seems understandable to realize that sometimes our superiors value content, quantity and speed over an ethically sound story. When the job's on the line and the deadline is fast approaching, there are journalists who will overlook or fabricate their work in order to meet their goals. One of the ideas I found particularly attractive in one of the readings for class was to avoid this problem is to simply not tell an editor about a story until you're sure you have all the facts right and everything is up to your standards.
Stay True to Yourself
As ridiculously corny as it sounds, sticking to what you believe in and the core of ethical value taught to journalists either in school or by their organizations is something that is often overlooked. The demand for content and content delivered quickly is a part of a reporter's job. This particular aspect of journalism is detrimental to ethical reasoning, especially nowadays, with virtually everyone having the title of journalist and having their voices published or aired via Internet.
Getting the latest scoop and getting it first is a battle, but the battle for truth is even bigger. As our audience notices a decline in truthfulness they lose hope and respect for the sources they trusted for factual information. Now it is most important to stick to ethical reasoning. In this way we can prevent mess ups. We can even prevent transparency, or rather having to explain ourselves, because the validity of our content will be proven by the consistency of our ethical decision making. Truth is a tricky path, but a path whose obstacles are entirely conquerable.
Getting the latest scoop and getting it first is a battle, but the battle for truth is even bigger. As our audience notices a decline in truthfulness they lose hope and respect for the sources they trusted for factual information. Now it is most important to stick to ethical reasoning. In this way we can prevent mess ups. We can even prevent transparency, or rather having to explain ourselves, because the validity of our content will be proven by the consistency of our ethical decision making. Truth is a tricky path, but a path whose obstacles are entirely conquerable.
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