A New Era for Media Ethical Values and Codes

Kendall Schmucker
ks473114@ohio.edu

Moving into this highly digital age, journalists are dealing with ethical issues that were not around 10 to 20 years ago. The codes that many journalists were living by had to be altered to be able to apply them to the new mediums and for a broader audience.

According to an article in The New Ethics of Journalism, truth is still the number one core value for journalists. However, as the craft evolves over time, journalists are recognizing the blurring lines between reporting the truth versus opinion. The ethical value to act independently is lost within the influences of the news source, audience, and the need to get the story on the internet as quickly as possible.

Source: https://journalistjan.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/ethics-avoiding-journalism-sins/

Transparency is one of the most important values journalists need to cling to. Look at the story. Try to avoid personal bias. See things from several different angles, seek the truth, and back up the story with credible facts and sources. If there is a mistake, acknowledge it and make corrections.

According to a survey by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, the percent of people who trust media a great deal is currently lower than those who trust the Trump administration.

In order to return trust in the media, journalists should be held accountable. The public needs to question what they are reading and watching, seek the truth themselves, and be aware of biases.

In the New York Times opinion column by Timothy P. Carney titled Liberal News Media Bias has a Serious Effect, Carney comments on the sway of many newsrooms toward a more left-winged angle.

"Clustering of left-of-center viewpoints in the newsroom leads to a cloistering, and thus reporters end up unfamiliar with conservative viewpoints (for instance, "property rights" gets put in scare quotes, while "abortion rights" doesn't)."

Carney's commentary on biased newsroom reporting is a point that is prominent in the world of journalism recently, with content such as the 2004 documentary "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" or President Trump's famous tweets bashing media coverage of the presidential election and his presidency. Furthermore, studies show that certain individuals on different points of the political spectrum have a tendency to lean toward specific news outlets.

Lack of transparency in reporting from these different outlets is what created the lack of trust in media that exists today with the "fake news" trend. With trust in the media at one of the lowest points that it has ever been, journalistic ethical codes are more necessary than ever.

With social media as one of the newest relevant mediums for journalists to share their work, they must be careful what they are posting. Keep the public updated and let them know what is happening. Be aware of the consequences of mistakes, and how quickly things can go viral.

While it is hard to say what the future holds for journalists, it will definitely be a difficult road toward reestablishing the public's trust in the media. Through an effort to stick to their ethical codes and seek the truth, however, current and future journalists can continue to be a positive outlet for informing the people.