The Battle Between Journalists and Ethics

Gary Mayle
gm301615@ohio.edu

Journalists are in the midst of an era in which they are expected to bring breaking news and captivating, in depth stories in real time. They are expected to disseminate news quickly to satisfy employers and the public. Heavy competition, time constraints and pressure to put out content can lead journalists to turn to unethical behaviors to ease the burden of their jobs. Let's take a look at a few of the reasons why journalists can fall into unethical behavior.

When is "crossing the line?" 
One of the biggest challenges journalists face is line-drawing. How far should they go in reporting a story, if at all? What are the after effects of breaking the story? What would be your reputation look like after publishing the story? Many of the best, most entertaining stories come with this question lodged in the back of the journalist's mind. Names of sexual assault victims such as the Elizabeth Smart case in 2002 is an example of this. Stories of presidential or high -ranking office-holding individuals such as the recent OP-ED case with staff from his White House. Both of these examples of occasions where journalists may cross the line because of how murky the idea of how much information should ethically be released.

Digital Journalism 
The exponential growth of the internet, social media in particular has shaped a whole new dimension of journalism. Seemingly anyone can become a "journalist" now in this new digital era. With endless content online and the pressure to keep up with fellow news outlets journalists sometimes break ethical codes. Source-checking, quote confirmation and clickbait titles are among some of the various ethical flaws from the digital perspective. Time is an extremely key factor in why some unethical issues arise online as everyone is reporting on a story, journalists naturally feel the need to publish something quick or they will get left behind.


Photo via Twitter. 

Public Disconcertion
The fight between journalists and their unethical behavior stretches beyond their employers and themselves. At an all time high, the public does not go in depth to find confirmation and are way more susceptible to believing  what they read. Less of an emphasis is being placed on "good, trustable" journalist and more emphasis is being placed on what entertains them in the moment and what news they come across first. Part of this public disconcertion stems from the lack of trust between the public and its journalists which results in an endless stalemate which has resulted in the current tumultuous climate.