Stop the Presses

Lauren McKinzie
lm122811@ohio.edu

In the movie "The Paper" there were many situations that came into ethical question. As I watched the movie, I seemed to focus on the personal choices that Henry Hackett made. He seemed to care solely about getting the story anyway he could and discarded his ethical values. I have listed below some of the choices that Henry made and how he could have gone about them differently using the SPJ Code of Ethics.

Seek Truth and Report It

Seeking the truth and reporting it is Henry's ultimate goal. But, he made an unethical choice in order to obtain the information he needed. He set up a fake interview with another newspaper to steal their information. Not only could this potentially hurt his future career, but hurt the career of the newspaper he works for. Journalists are supposed to remain honest and "take responsibility for the accuracy of their work."When Henry gets caught he uses the excuse, "You did realize you were talking to a journalist." This is not the mindset Henry should have. There is a line between getting the story and violating the ethics code. 

Work Life and Family Life Balance

This was a huge issue in the movie. Henry had a very pregnant wife, and he continued to chose work over his family. He even had his wife use some of her connections and flirt with a man to find out more information for his story. It finally caught up to him when she was taken to the hospital for an emergency C-section. Henry was not their to help her. Henry was not holding himself accountable for his own actions. He was not holding himself to a higher standard. As a respected journalist he needs to hold himself and others accountable for their ethical decisions. 

Stop the Presses

This is where Henry completely gets out of control. After doing everything he can to get his story, he has to stop the presses to get the new story published for tomorrow's paper. He even tackles his boss to the ground. Although Henry was trying to report the truth and publish an honest story, the way he went about it was wrong. He risked his career for a story, harmed other in the process. and didn't care about others. This is not an ethical journalist. I think Henry was right in trying to report the truth, but he would have been able to do all this while maintaining an ethical code.