aa384716@ohio.edu
Trust in the news media is down, according to many individuals and many polls. The Knight Foundation poll is one of many proving the increasing distrust of the press. Individuals surveyed said their reasoning came under two categories: accuracy and bias.
Other reasons for distrust in the news media come from "Moral Reasoning for Journalists" by Steven Knowlton and Bill Reader. They say, according to many press critics, the reasons for distrust are linked to money, spinmeisters (the people in charge of maintaining the image of politicians, celebrities, etc), tabloid journalism and political bias.
The way I see it, the underlying reason people distrust the press is because they're questioning and doubting the ethics of these news media organizations. They blame it on other things like accuracy and bias, but both of those things point to ethics.
I think it's important to look at the ethical codes and ideas journalists strive to follow.
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| Source: Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). |
"It is not a set of rules, rather a guide that encourages all who engage in journalism to take responsibility for the information they provide, regardless of medium," SPJ states on their website.
Other organizations like the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) have also created ethical guidelines.
Journalists have ethical guidelines to follow so what's the problem, right? Why does much of the public distrust the news media? Are Journalists not following the guidelines?
I'm no expert, but from what I can tell after two years as a journalism student, an internship in a TV newsroom and working as a reporter for a student TV station, making ethical decisions is more complicated than just following some rules set by an organization.
During my internship, several times I witnessed the news director and other management discussing the best decisions to make in covering a story with producers and reporters. Some decisions were easy. Like the story of a SWAT situation that turned into a suicide. The station policy is to not cover suicide, so that was the end of that. Other decisions were more difficult. Like the discussion of a claim in a Facebook post that would be incredibly newsworthy if true. Management and reporters discussed how to figure out if the claim was true and how much time and attention to devote to it.
There's also an underlying theoretical reason why making ethical decisions is more complicated than just following a code of ethics. There are several theories about how to make ethical decisions. There's not one that's universally agreed upon, which indicates why it's complex and difficult to make some of the harder ethical decisions in news.
So, what's the solution to this distrust of the news media?
There's no right or wrong solution right now; if there was one right solution, the problem wouldn't exist. To me, the solution is transparency and continuing to discuss ethical decision making every day.
Source: The Newhouse School at Syracuse University
David Fahrenthold won the Toner Prize for excellence in political reporting because of his transparency in his reporting on Donald Trump during the 2016 election. While trying to substantiate Trump's claims of giving millions of his own money to charity, Fahrenthold tweeted photos of his notes and updates on his research throughout his whole investigation. His research culminated in this article.
This transparency in where the facts are coming from should be the norm. By looking at David Fahrenthold's twitter, it's evident that for him, it is the norm.
As far as discussing ethical decision making, all journalism students at Ohio University are required to take a course on ethics. The same is true at other top communication schools across the country; this is a step in the right direction.
It's my hope that with the education on ethical journalism practices the next generation of journalists like myself are receiving, we'll be able to regain the trust of the public.
