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In the Media Industry, it is a benefit to have a lot of friends and connections. The more sources you have, the better chance you have to get more from your stories. But is there a certain line that should be drawn to prevent you from tarnishing your reputation? Keeping your professional life separate from your personal life as well as sticking to not only your personal ethics but your companies ethics as well.
Photo by: Gianluca Baio, statsblogs.com
Common Conflicts:
Conflict's of interests are almost impossible to avoid. Balancing your professional and personal life is the best way to avoid your interests from getting in the way. As professionals, we have obligations as well as personal, but there is a time and place for one or the other, the two should not be intertwined.
Different Types of Conflicts of Interests:
- Public and Private
- Outside employment
- Personal Interests
- Professional Compensation
Ways to Avoid Conflict of Interest:
Biggest way to avoid conflict of interest is to create and stick to your ethic codes. Personally you have them and professionally you have them. Connections inside your company are a lot different from outside of the company. You work and see familiar faces in the work place, but despite your friendships, there is a reason for the saying, "this is strictly business".
Effects of COI in Relation to Journalists:
Despite the private settings on social media or the chances of trying to remain incognito, their lives are not a surprise. They know where they live, they know their hobbies, significant others and interests. For an up and coming journalist, I find Twitter to be the most effective social media app. It is fast, very informational and provides easy access to information that can lead to follow up info. However because Twitter can be accessed by anyone, information becomes tainted, and journalists are faced with a more difficult task. Utilizing Twitter for the goodness of it comes down to the journalists ethical decisions. What one might think is right, the other might not. Regardless of your decision in the end, it comes down to your decisions. Making sure its actually newsworthy, it is real and not fake, and that only benefits will come from it.
Consequences:
Your role as a journalist is supposed to be strictly business. In recent studies, viewers who watch news indicate they prefer their local news over the national news. The reporters often live in or near the town their covering, they're engaged more with the community and then they are more trustworthy than national journalists. The consequences are quite simple, you might lose your job, your credentials as a journalist become tainted and you lose sight of your ethical decisions. As journalists, we like to cover stories we care about, but they should be told right down the middle with no bias or prior experience towards the specific story.
Takeaways:
In the end what it comes down to is this, balancing your personal life and your professional life is the biggest key to avoid conflict of interests. In journalism, your reputation is everything. You only have one chance to make and keep your record clean. As tough as it may be, with the increase of technology and the ease of access to information about oneself, sometimes it is best to keep your opinions to yourself. Journalists are now being scrutinized for their work and the trust in journalists is at an all-time low.
Effects of COI in Relation to Journalists:
Despite the private settings on social media or the chances of trying to remain incognito, their lives are not a surprise. They know where they live, they know their hobbies, significant others and interests. For an up and coming journalist, I find Twitter to be the most effective social media app. It is fast, very informational and provides easy access to information that can lead to follow up info. However because Twitter can be accessed by anyone, information becomes tainted, and journalists are faced with a more difficult task. Utilizing Twitter for the goodness of it comes down to the journalists ethical decisions. What one might think is right, the other might not. Regardless of your decision in the end, it comes down to your decisions. Making sure its actually newsworthy, it is real and not fake, and that only benefits will come from it.
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| Photo by: New Mexico State University, Conflict of Interest Research |
Consequences:
Your role as a journalist is supposed to be strictly business. In recent studies, viewers who watch news indicate they prefer their local news over the national news. The reporters often live in or near the town their covering, they're engaged more with the community and then they are more trustworthy than national journalists. The consequences are quite simple, you might lose your job, your credentials as a journalist become tainted and you lose sight of your ethical decisions. As journalists, we like to cover stories we care about, but they should be told right down the middle with no bias or prior experience towards the specific story.
Takeaways:
In the end what it comes down to is this, balancing your personal life and your professional life is the biggest key to avoid conflict of interests. In journalism, your reputation is everything. You only have one chance to make and keep your record clean. As tough as it may be, with the increase of technology and the ease of access to information about oneself, sometimes it is best to keep your opinions to yourself. Journalists are now being scrutinized for their work and the trust in journalists is at an all-time low.
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