rd725312@ohio.edu
Conflict of interest is a problem in any job field, but is especially prominent in journalism. Conflict of interesting can occur when there's money involved, when a reporter may feel sensitive on a topic or when there are business ties between a reporter and that which is being reported. The most recently conflict of interest present in the news is the connection between the releasing of the Ray Rice video and ties to the NFL.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) posted on thenation.com
TMZ Breaking Ray Rice Video
The surveillance video of Ray Rice "knocking his wife out" in the elevator was the deciding point in his suspension from the NFL. Before the video, released by TMZ months after the incident, he was only subjected to a several game suspension. The questions on everyone's mind are: why didn't someone release the video sooner? Why was TMZ, of all news organizations, the one to break the video? Many argue that if another major news outlet released the video sooner it would have resulted in an immediate suspension and less controversy.
Conflict of Interest Between News Organizations and NFL
Many news organizations have direct ties to the NFL. Stations like CBS have contracts with the NFL that allow them to broadcast the games. Because of this relationship, news stations have to be very careful what they report because it could possibly harm their contract with these other companies. This conflict of interest is ruining viewers' trust in the media because these stations that are sometimes a person's closest news source are not reporting the entire truth.
Ray Rice Video also Poses Ethical Questions
There are also other ethical questions to consider with the Ray Rice video. The reason many other news stations might not have published the video was because after reviewing the ethics of it, they felt it was not necessary. In this situation, a journalist not only has to consider their business ties but the life of the person they are covering. What will this do to their reputation? Will their family see it? How will this effect their relationships?
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