Can you morally handle your job?
No matter what journalistic
background you seek to pursue or currently work in there will always be a set
of morally right actions that we are expected to take when a situation goes
sour. We as informers to the public are given topics, stories and assignments
that sometimes have heavy moral consequences if the wrong decision is made. Even
when the right decision is made there is always that small chance that our
decision could negatively affect someone else.
Sometimes the answer is not always clear as to
what the best decision is for us and for those involved. As humans we always seek
to find the solution that provides a happy ending for all but as a public informer
sometimes we have to think not so much
about what is best for ourselves but also those involved and the public who
looks to us for the truth and nothing but the truth.
This moral decision process starts and
continues from the moment we receive a task until the moment it is completed
where it then sits in the back of our mind either positively or negatively
disrupting our everyday thoughts. Our own morals and beliefs weigh in on every
situation we encounter in life but we as journalists are expected to put aside
this urge of bias and bear the truth to the public no matter how much it hurts
us or someone else sometimes.
For those seeking a
career in advertising, public relations and journalism I ask you, how strong
are your morals? Think about it, have you ever tested your own moral code? Now
think about what you would do if you were faced with a hard pressing story or
put in a situation where the truth is the only option but it would severely
hurt someone, would you be able to gather the strength to print that story or follow
through with a plan that could potentially cause anger and pain even though it
pursued the truth?
As public informers we
have a set of codes laid out in front of us and are expected to abide by these structured
recommendations to the best of our ability. Clearly not all of life’s answers can be found on a
piece of paper and this is where we as humans and as journalists have to piece
together our decisions based on our own beliefs and what our society expects
from us. Sometimes what we may deem right may not be written on a piece of
paper and outlined in numerical order to follow along and that’s okay. It’s
that very decision process that shows whether or not you have what it takes to
bear the responsibilities of the job.
Now I want to know: do
you think you could morally think like a journalist, advertiser or public
relations specialist and put aside your personal feelings to do the right thing?
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