kc313010@ohio.edu
Following Codes of Ethics
Today's journalists are more dedicated
to professional ethics than any journalists have been in the past. However,
with our fast-paced, technology-based society; journalists are struggling to
beat the competitors. With heightened competition and increased pressure to cut
ethical corners, "good journalism" could essentially disappear.
What could be causing this?
Money issues: As news outlets expand, many news
companies are cutting staff and budget and investing in online marketing
materials. With fewer employed journalists, vast amounts of important
newsworthy stories and less time to create a good story, the news world is
losing credibility.
Political outlooks: A new trend called media bashing
has recently surfaced as an outlet for political figures, talk shows, books and
blogs to bash “mainstream media” without too much of a consequence. Most of the public eye is centered around
what is happening in the media and today’s world, so media bashing affects what
people think about the media as well as the issue at hand.
More and More People
are Turning Away
The majority of the public does not necessarily trust the “mainstream
media” anymore because of past journalists posting incorrect information,
biased information, etc. As stated earlier, there is heightened competition and
increased pressures to cut ethical corners. With this in mind, journalists need
to discover their own personal code of ethics and stick to it regardless of the
issue at hand to ensure credible media outlets.
So…
How does a journalist design their ethical philosophy? Is it
easy to create a list of ethical rules to follow in uncomfortable situations?
A main factor in designing a code of ethics is your background.
You might have something you strongly believe in or do not believe in because
of your religion or the way you were socialized. When you are more concerned
with yourself and what will better you than your way of thinking it is called
ethical egoism. This ideally is not the best way to think in a journalistic
society because the definition of ethical reasoning is being concerned with
self-in-society and not just self.
A great way to create a code of ethics after establishing if
you are an ethical egoism thinker or an ethical reasoning thinker is to read
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) code of ethics. Although these
codes changes every once in a while, it is a great list to follow and adopt.
Journalism, like law and medicine, has important public
services roles and a set of ethics to follow. However, journalism does
not require any special training or certification process like law and medicine
do. Also, there is no governing body to prevent any mishaps from happening, although journalists have their own code of ethics. There is no real way to prevent false information or biased information from entering the public's eye except for the journalist personal code of ethics.
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