The Dangers of Conflicts of Interest

Garrett Raymond
Gr732313@ohio.edu

Conflicts of Interest in Journalism
As journalists, our job is to inform the public about the news around us. That includes telling the story without any bias or special interests that might change or alter the story. Being truthful and honest characteristics that every reporter should and expected to have. That being said, many journalists fall under the pressure of outside sources or people who bribe reporters to either spin some truths or give corporations more media time.

Journalists and organizations are appreciated for the work they do, but accepting gifts like compensation or court-side tickets to a basketball game is recognizably too much of a gift to take. According to the NPR Ethics Handbook it's up to the journalist and their ethics to either accept or decline a gift.

"Of course, it's not always easy to draw a line between a valuable gift and a small token of appreciation, and it's not always practical to decline or return the item. In some cultural settings, it may be an insult to decline a gift or dinner invitation.In such situations, we trust our journalists to do the right thing."

The drug industry, according to Gary Schwitzer of Health News Review, is trying to gain positive attention by buying placements in news media to get people talking about it. Health care is a big deal in American politics and Americans spend nearly $3 trillion on it. Big drug companies will try to bribe journalists to all-expense paid trips and workshops that are sponsored by other drug corporations. The news outlet Vox sends out a daily newsletter sponsored by America's Pharmaceutical Companies and received a lot of criticism.

By: Gary Schwitzer

Being sponsored by big corporations and business makes your organization look sold out, and not credible. People will look elsewhere for their news if they start to see your organization lean toward an idea or bias that wasn't present before there was a conflict of interest.

How to Avoid Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest can be a dangerous thing, once you put yourself in that position it's hard to come back out credible and on top. It's better to never be in that situation in the beginning and hold yourself to your ethical standard. As a journalist, it is your news you report, and no outside source should tell you to change your story.

According to ThoughtCo. some ways to avoid conflicts of interests are not to cover family members or friends. It isn't a good idea to cover a story that involves family or friends because you're already playing sides. You might end up bending the truth or hiding it to help your interest.

Another way to avoid conflicts of interest is not to donate to activist or political campaigns. Donating shows where your interests stand and shows bias if you ever reported on news involving the groups. Journalist like New Yorker television critic Emily Nussbaum, according to The Center for Public Integrity, accused President Donald Trump of running an "ugly and xenophobic campaign", but little do people know is she contributed $250 to the Hillary Clinton campaign in April. Once people see she donated money, their views might change of the journalist.

It's ultimately up to the journalist to accept or decline offers from organizations. The best way to avoid that circumstance is to create a set of ethics to follow that will never allow you to stray down the bribing path. It's the job of the journalist to provide true, non-bias stories. Once you get exposed to the public for having conflicts of interests, it's really hard to obtain credibility and have a successful career in journalism.