Ethical Responsibility

Thomas Garverick
cg701315@ohio.edu

As journalists we have one job: to tell the truth and to keep the people informed.

Journalists have an obligation to make sure that the world, in a sense, stays in order. While reading "The Elements of Journalism of Chapter 1", it reflected that we as journalists act as gatekeepers because if we don't, then it could cast a dark cloud over the world.

"When the flow of news is obstructed, 'a darkness falls' and anxiety grows. The world, in effect, becomes too quiet. We feel alone."

If a journalist stops doing their job because they're afraid to expose somebody, then the ramifications could be huge on our society.

We've seen how this has gone both ways -- the good and the bad, and how a journalist or publication's decision changed the way we feel about something that impacts millions of people.

The Pentagon Papers: The Ultimate Test of Ethical Responsibility 

Over this past summer I watched the movie "The Post",  and I was blown away with how much the The Washington Post struggled with its decision to post The Pentagon Papers or not.

Katharine Graham was the first female publisher of an American newspaper and her relationship with White House Officals made it extremely difficult to make the best decision. She was risking her whole career on these papers.

It's the ethical responsibility of un-masking what they all knew: a cover-up that expanded over three decades and four presidents. The people deserved the right that the U.S. Government was lying about the amount of deaths in the United States.

Ultimately, that's why Graham gave Ben Bradlee, the editor of The Washington Post at the time, permission to run this story. The people needed to be informed that our soldiers' lives were more severely at risk then what everyone thought.

Kathrine Graham and Ben Bradlee struggled with the knowledge of what the United States Government had done and how they should aproach that with the people. Photo credit: Variety.com

Ethical Responsibility: When we say nothing and it causes major harm 

"Public discussion is a political duty," The Supreme Court said in an article called "A free press needs you."

Yes, it is our duty to talk about things, even when they will bring the light some of the darkest times that people could experience. The Larry Nassar case is a prime example of why when people know things -- they should've acted upon it sooner.

Obviously, many journalists were not aware of this -- many of the female athletes went to their familes and coaches about Nassar, and the inappropriate touching that he conducted while doing examinations.

I found something very fascinating though when I was reading an article -- NBC news had received a report in 2014 that Nassar had tried to touch her sexually. No charges were ever filed, and Nassar stayed at Michigan State.

The media, in a small sense, knew that foul play was going on here. Since they didn't act on the first report four years ago, Nassar continued these acts while others suffered.

It's so important, regardless of the situation, that journalists do what is right. You just never know whose life you can save by doing your job.

Larry Nassar got away with sexually harassing hundreds of female athletes. Friends, coaches and even the media, were partly to blame because they chose not to believe what they heard. Photo credit: The Washington Post