Ethics, Changing Values, and The Internet

Ross Dickerhoof

rd459511@ohio.edu

Whether we like it or not, technology, particularly in regards to communication, is in a constant state of change and development. As a result of these changes, journalism has to keep up the pace by changing its method of delivery. And no technological advancement has caused as much change to the world of journalism as the Internet.

A Loosening of Standards?

Stateofthenewsmedia.org offered up some disturbing statistics in a recent survey it conducted on how the Internet is altering journalistic values. About 45 percent of those surveyed indicated that journalism is resulting in a higher amount of carelessness and a loosening of standards, and 25 percent said that there was a greater focus on getting information out to the public quickly, for good or for ill.

I heartily agree with both of these statements. Since the Internet has placed an overwhelming amount of information right at our fingertips, and we can just search for it whenever and wherever we want, our society now collectively has a shorter attention span and demands information on topics of interest to us as quickly as possible, without care for whether or not it is accurate.

For example, there was the recent incident where Rachel Cassidy was wrongly identified as the female in the recent Court Street case and was harassed by a “men’s rights” group who went off hearsay and conjecture that she was involved. This kind of impulsive and cruel behavior is inexcusable from anyone, and it’s such a shame that it had to result from one of the most helpful technological innovations in recent history, particularly when it could be used to inform rather than accuse.

One could also link this behavior to the actions of outlets like Wikileaks, which does not contextualize the information it presents, but rather focuses on getting itself out as soon as it can be released. But the information itself doesn’t do any good if it has no context, which brings the valuability of Wikileaks and other organizations like it into question: What good is speed if the integrity of the material is compromised?

Photo from Loss of Privacy.

The Shallowness of Modern Journalism

When people were asked what online journalism is doing well, only 5 percent of those surveyed said that online journalism excelled at providing deep analysis of its subjects. While I do believe that there are some examples of thoughtful journalistic analysis of a given subject on the Internet (look here at this well-thoughtout takedown of a letter to The Post that trivializes the prevalent issue of rape culture on campus for a shining bit of it), for the most part, the public is right.

Whenever information regarding a major political issue is released, it’s instantaneous. The Internet’s notification processes let us know instantly whenever something potentially of interest to us goes down, and we immediately take to our keyboards to report on it. Things used to be slower and more gradual as information trickled across the country, and we had to take the time to think things out and write them down (what a novel idea!) and go through the lengthy process of printing the papers. Now, that comment box is right there. That blog you’ve started is already bookmarked. Why wait? Do it now, while it’s fresh in your mind.

What people fail to consider is that simply because the audience for our words is right in front of us (at our computers, that is), that doesn’t mean we’re obligated to tell them what we’re thinking as soon as we think it. Simply because the Internet offers us a disconnect with the real world does not mean that we should treat the things we say online as though they are not real. So before you hit “Enter,” ask yourself this: Would I say that to someone’s face? If the answer’s "no," it’s time for a rewrite.