hh157115@ohio.edu
Balance is key in every aspect of our lives. Without balance, our bread would not rise properly, our checkbooks would be off, and all of our buildings would be slanted and uneven. Balance also plays a role in journalism when it comes to debating whether the need to report a source or story is worth the exploitation and ethical risks.
Will Cooper spoke on Wednesday, October 24, as a part of the 90 Minutes series here on campus about journalism, masculinity, and the importance of ethics. Cooper is an alum of Ohio University, as well as one of the founders of campus's very own, Backdrop Magazine. He is currently a senior editor for Vice and he credits his media ethics class for giving him the ethical skills he needs to succeed in the world of journalism. "Ethics come in every step of the way," said Cooper, illustrating that ethics separates the good journalists from the great ones as it's not a class requirement at every institution.
Cooper specifically dove into balancing reporting on underprivileged people versus exploiting them, during the discussion. He highlighted an example of this in a piece he created on the Cleveland Strangler. Cooper said that while it was difficult and uncomfortable to interview those victims, they were stronger and more resilient than he could have ever imagined. Cooper admitted that his fear was that his interview would come off on a negative start, wondering if his questions were the right, ethical ones to present to the subjects. The women were more than capable to have not only a good interview but a fantastic one, where they took the lead and ran the show. This proves that great content comes from being uncomfortable if done in a respectful and ethical way.
The Columbia Journalism Review published a piece about how people who have been betrayed by the press due to inaccuracies are willing to go on the news again, as they think that any news exposure is good exposure.
"And while subjects rarely feel betrayed, they do often feel manipulated and pressured, especially in the wake of traumatic events. In fact, the practices that subjects find most exploitative are the ones baked into journalistic routines, responses to the daily pressures of journalistic work, like deadlines. Often, the whole experience s more surreal to subjects than it is damaging."
This is prevalent in today's news cycle, as mass shootings and tragedies have become more commonplace on our front pages.
During the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, reporters would flood the area and disrupt families' grieving processes to get the next big headline. Broadcasting & Cable detailed how the waves of media would swarm the surrounding area and harass residents for stories, information, and clickbait.
"Though the media crush has thinned considerable, there remains an uneasy relationship between the reporters and the residents. A woman keeps driving by, say the station staffers, telling everyone to 'get the hell out.'" The local media treated their neighbors with as much privacy and respect that they could muster, while foreign crews were focused solely on news.
"The remaining reporters are pleased to see the overseas crews have largely left. The sense of decorum was different with the foreigners, they say; they share reports of sneaking into private services, crossing police tape and chasing hearses from the non-U.S. reporting staffs."
The =n why are so many people feeling manipulated by the media? The desire for urgency and to "feed the machine" plays a large role, according to Poynter. We feed the machine so furiously thanks to the internet. The 24/7 lifestyle of our Androids and iPhones have made breaking news more accessible than ever, thanks to real-time notifications from companies like CNN, The New York Times, and Fox. This has fueled journalists into a deadline-crazed frenzy, much more so than the pre-internet newsrooms.
And when deadlines are the only thing on the mind, a lot tends to be left out. Pew Research Center surveyed the media's best and worst traits and showed that the majority believe the news in biased and makes poor choices in its reporting.
At the end of the day, the ethical decision for a reporter is to not sacrifice the livelihood and respect of a person for the glory of a story. That is why it is key for journalists to keep ethics in mind when interviewing and writing. The news becomes the opposite of newsworthy if the information gathered is done in an unethical and hasty fashion.
"And while subjects rarely feel betrayed, they do often feel manipulated and pressured, especially in the wake of traumatic events. In fact, the practices that subjects find most exploitative are the ones baked into journalistic routines, responses to the daily pressures of journalistic work, like deadlines. Often, the whole experience s more surreal to subjects than it is damaging."
This is prevalent in today's news cycle, as mass shootings and tragedies have become more commonplace on our front pages.
During the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, reporters would flood the area and disrupt families' grieving processes to get the next big headline. Broadcasting & Cable detailed how the waves of media would swarm the surrounding area and harass residents for stories, information, and clickbait.
"Though the media crush has thinned considerable, there remains an uneasy relationship between the reporters and the residents. A woman keeps driving by, say the station staffers, telling everyone to 'get the hell out.'" The local media treated their neighbors with as much privacy and respect that they could muster, while foreign crews were focused solely on news.
"The remaining reporters are pleased to see the overseas crews have largely left. The sense of decorum was different with the foreigners, they say; they share reports of sneaking into private services, crossing police tape and chasing hearses from the non-U.S. reporting staffs."
The =n why are so many people feeling manipulated by the media? The desire for urgency and to "feed the machine" plays a large role, according to Poynter. We feed the machine so furiously thanks to the internet. The 24/7 lifestyle of our Androids and iPhones have made breaking news more accessible than ever, thanks to real-time notifications from companies like CNN, The New York Times, and Fox. This has fueled journalists into a deadline-crazed frenzy, much more so than the pre-internet newsrooms.
And when deadlines are the only thing on the mind, a lot tends to be left out. Pew Research Center surveyed the media's best and worst traits and showed that the majority believe the news in biased and makes poor choices in its reporting.
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| Source: Pew Research Center |
At the end of the day, the ethical decision for a reporter is to not sacrifice the livelihood and respect of a person for the glory of a story. That is why it is key for journalists to keep ethics in mind when interviewing and writing. The news becomes the opposite of newsworthy if the information gathered is done in an unethical and hasty fashion.
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