Ethical Issues in "The Paper"

Mallory Laird
ml704211@ohio.edu

http://www.empireonline.com/features/ten-rules-of-movie-journalism/5.asp

The movie, "The Paper" is a very accurate portrayal of how a newsroom/newspaper really works. Each of the characters depicts someone you would find a newsroom. However the dilemma of this movie is the ethical questions that it raises. Although the movie is very humorous, the seriousness of the ethical questions raised is relevant.

One of the main ethical scenes that sticks out to me is the fighting scene between Alicia and Henry. This scene occurs after Henry has learned that the two black males are innocent, and a different story needs to be run. Alicia is fighting Henry because the paper is already out on the press. The ethical issue of "Seek the Truth and Report it" is present here. Henry is being ethical, but Alicia is being unethical. Henry is trying to stop the printing so that the true story, that the boys are innocent, is run. Alicia on the other hand is worried because the paper is already being printed, so wants to keep the story they already have.

Another unethical scene is when Henry is in the Sentinel office for his interview. He first starts out by trying to get the man to talk about leads they have on stories. He is almost trying to get him to slip up so he can take the information back to his office and use it at The Sun. Henry eventually ends up stealing the lead right off of a notepad on the editor's desk. This is clearly an unethical way to gather information. This is a conflict within the integrity of Henry which is stated here in the RTDNA Codes.

An ethical issue that surrounds the entire movie is the issue of Stereotyping. The entire media outlet in this movie is stereotyping the race of the individuals who committed this crime. The two African American boys were arrested without sufficient evidence just because of their race. It is clear that this is unethical and has to do with stereotyping because of the scene with Henry and the police officer. The officer openly admits that the two African American boys arrested were innocent of the crime.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is at the end when Alicia is in the hospital but is trying to do everything in her power to get the right story printed. Although there are many unethical instances in the movie, this scene is very ethical. This scene of Alicia trying to get The Sun to run the correct story shows the true and ethical light of many journalists. Alicia has realized her mistake and wants to fix it. She realizes that running a untrue story would be unethical.

In the end, with all the ethical and unethical problems, The Sun comes out on top by running a true ethical story in their paper. They are also the only newspaper to run the story and get the "exclusive." This goes to show that you do not have to be unethical to be a journalists or to be on top. The Sun is able to run an ethical truthful story that they can be proud of.