The Ethical Responsibility of Journalists

Gillian Gonder
gg346916@ohio.edu

In a world dominated by social media, anyone can be a journalist. On Twitter, people tweet about the news. On Snapchat, people record videos commenting on current events. On Instagram, people take photos of what is going on in the moment. It is hard to tell what is true from what is fake, what is biased from what is factual. Social media presents news in real time, documenting what is going on in the moment. It is the job of journalists to give information that is factual, timely, and honest.

In the end, Journalism is about being human, not about presenting the most juicy information that brings attention to a topic. Journalists must learn to connect with audiences, and to do so, they must be vulnerable. They must be accountable for their mistakes and their actions. They must be open to new ideas and present information from credible sources. Without these assets, consumers lose faith and trust in journalists.

Social media has become one of the primary sources of information in regard to news and current events. How do consumers tell what is true and what is false? Different news companies have been known to spread fake news.

About a year ago, CNN was under fire for allegedly staging a rescue during Hurricane Harvey. During the video, it appears as if there was an outfit change mid-rescue, but this could be the fault of bad editing. The primary issue in this situation was the lack of humanity. CNN did not comment on the validity of the video, which raised questions about their ethical standards. Whether or not this actually happened is unknown, but it caused a stir in the public and their trust of the news company.

Fake news is now expected with the rise of social media as a primary source of information. The president frequently tweets about fake news, but at the same time is known for spreading fake news himself. It is the ethical responsibility of journalists to present honest, unbiased information that informs the public of what is going on in the world. In the words of Bloomberg columnist Jonathon Bernstein, "honesty, humility and compassion will connect journalists to their audiences," and connection is what bridges trust between the media and the public.

Courtesy of www.journalism festival.com