ga210814@ohio.edu
 |
| This graphic is retrieved from Cox and Forkum Editorial Cartoons. |
Humans make ethical decisions every day. (I think my dog does too- but that’s beside the fact). Sometimes these are moments in our day that breeze right by us and we unconsciously make small impactful decisions depending on who we are and our nature of how we typically behave. For instance, a typical member of society wouldn't break in and steal from their neighbor even if they know their garage code.
Sometimes, ethical decisions are a little harder to make and are accompanied with an ample amount of stress and an extra application of deodorant. These are usually the situations where you know you want to do something, but you have this tugging feeling in your gut making you question if it's the right choice. So, what is that tugging feeling? And as a journalist, what do we do with that?
As a journalist, the decisions that we make on and off the clock effect our professional lives and reputations. We always must uphold being trustworthy and unbiased.
Where Journalists Should Begin Making an Ethical Decision
First and foremost, your personal ethical code matters. You might not even know that you have one, but you do. It’s what you believe is right from wrong- even if it takes you a while to get to the conclusion. This is not to be confused with a personal bias or incline for personal gain. Ultimately, you’re the person that is going to have to live with your decision for the rest of your life.
Secondly- as a journalist- one must consider the ethical guidelines and policies of their publication. This is crucial if you're someone who wants to keep their job. It would be proactive to ensure that your personal ethical code lined up with your employed publication prior to being hired to avoid major disagreements. Even though there are broad ethical journalistic guidelines, every publication has a slightly unique set of ethical codes that all of their journalists must follow.
Professional Examples Of Ethical Codes
The New York Times lists their standards and ethics on their website as employing fairness, integrity, and truth into all of their stories.
The Washington Post aligns their standards with providing the truth for the public good, declaring that they will make sacrifices of material fortunes to maintain this.
Usually, newspapers will also have a plan in place for certain accidents and mistakes that could potentially be made.
Other Variables Journalists Must Consider
Although this is usually included in ethical codes, one must really consider the consequences to all other stakeholders within the story as well- besides you and your publication. For instance- the people in the story.
Ultimately, it all comes back to your personal ethical code. For instance, if your publication is pressuring you to write a story that exposes someone from what they said off the record, you have to be the one that decides what to do. Do you publish this person’s secret for the potential gain in your career? Or do you consider the confidentiality you had with that person and consider the repercussions they will have in their individual lives? The choice is yours.
The Bottom Line
The hard part is that there are a lot of situations that are going to have a lot of grey areas. As an ethically conscious journalist, you have to be aware of all of your options, all of the people and groups that will be affected (including your publication), and your personal potential repercussions.
No comments:
Post a Comment