Ethics of "The Paper"

Hayley Ross
hr332511@ohio.edu

The movie "The Paper" addresses multiple ethical questions that are raised while working in a newsroom as a news and information journalist. The Society of Professional Journalists addresses some of these same questions and the solutions to these problems in their Code of Ethics.

Remember that neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy.

In "The Paper" Alicia and Henry get into a very violent fight about whether or not they should stop the presses after Henry discovers that the two boys accused of the murder are actually innocent. Alicia wants to continue printing the paper as is without correcting the information due to economic reasons and because the many copies of the paper have already been printed. Poynter published an article called "The best (and worst) media errors and corrections of 2012" that outlines some the mistakes that news outlets have made. Some of these are serious mistakes that are of similar severity to the printing mistake that Alicia is condoning in "The Paper."

Avoid undercover or surreptitious methods of gathering information unless traditional, open methods will not yield information vital to the public. 

Henry uses a couple different unethical methods of gathering information throughout the movie. He steals information off of the desk of the editor for the New York Sentinel and also convinces a cop to give him information in a mens bathroom. These are certainly not traditional ways of collecting information but in the end Henry was still able to get the information that the public needed.

Expose unethical conduct in journalism, including within their organization.

Henry exposes Alicia for allowing her to let her personal agenda and grudge against Henry to get in the way of publishing the truth. Alicia is willing to publish the story that falsely accuses the two boys of murder just so that Henry won't win the ongoing battle between the two of them. After she is shot, Alicia realizes that she was wrong and does everything in her power to make sure that the correct story gets printed even if it means not allowing the doctors to operate until she is able to call the printing press and stop the paper from being printed.

Avoid Stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting. 

In "The Paper" many of the news outlets and the police were quick to jump to the conclusion that the boys were the culprits of the crime without fully examining all the evidence. The boys were stereotyped because of their race, ethnicity and their perceived social status. Henry was willing to look further into the crime to look past those stereotypes and get more accurate information. By doing this, Henry proved to be a valuable journalist who was able to provide important and accurate information to the public and give the public the truth. The video clip below shows a clip from "Black Men in America" that shows how black men are more likely to be stereotyped just as the boys in "The Paper" were stereotyped even though they were not the criminals.


Overall, "The Paper" shows some ethical and unethical decisions being made by news and information journalists. By looking at the SPJ Code of Ethics, it is easier to see which decisions should and should not have been made in the movie. I enjoyed watching the movie even though some of the situations did not seem realistic. It shows the hard work and dedication to the field that journalists have when it comes to reporting the truth.