The Importance of the Code of Ethics

Elijah Sweet
es008215@ohio.edu

It is important as reporters or public relations professionals that we read and become familiar with ethical codes. These codes help remind us as journalists that we must report all of the facts to the public to keep them informed and let them determine how they think or feel about a certain situation.

One crucial part of the journalism ethics code is to keep special interest groups from helping to determine what should be reported in a news story. Many news stations are owned by special interest groups which makes it difficult for people to know if a certain news outlet practice biased reporting.

An example of a TV network that has been accused of being biased is Fox News. People claim that Fox News' reporting favors the Republican Party and that they tend to hire conservative reporters.

Fox News was founded by known Republican Roger Ailes. Ailes is most famous for developing a media strategy to help George H.W. Bush win the 1988 Presidential election. Fox hired many known conservative anchors and T.V. hosts to Fox including Rush Limbaugh, David Asman, Bill O'Reilly and Tony Snow.

According to a 2017 Allsides study, people generally believe that Fox News "leans right." Even though Fox News denies that their network is in anyway, there have been many instances where their reporting could have been seen as showing favoritism to the republican party.

People believe Fox cropped quotes from Joe Biden and Barack Obama so that they seemed out of context. During the 2009 President election, Obama was seen on every network except for Fox.

Fox News is not the only news outlet that is known for showing bias. According to a Pew Research Center study in 2014, MSNBC and The New York Times are watched and read mostly by liberals.

Courtesy of Pew Research Center 

It is important for the public to realize that most news outlets have some biased reporting. It is important for people to read and listen to different news outlets so that they can see if one certain outlet is spinning a news story a certain way to try and push an agenda.

As reporters, we should be very familiar with journalistic ethics codes so that we do not practice biased reporting.

The Radio Television Digital News Association Code of Ethics clearly states that, "Journalism empowers viewers, listeners and readers to make more informed decisions for themselves; it does not tell people what to believe or how to feel"(RTDNA).

Reporters should strive to tell the truth and show the public the facts instead of pushing a political or socioeconomic view. Not only is it important for journalists to follow a code of ethics but its also important for public relations professionals to do the same. Public relations professionals should always be honest when reporting even when it could damage the reputation of the company they are working for.

As young journalists we need to set a standard of reporting fairly and honestly. As we go on to work for different publications and news outlets we need to always remember the code of ethics so we can let the public make informed decisions on their own.