Ethics? Who needs 'em?

Haley Bender - hb476416@ohio.edu

Source: https://www.spj.org/ethicsweek-whatisjournalism.asp

Ethics is a generally vague word that can be defended in a million different ways. What is ethical and what is not has been debated for centuries. What is ethical in journalism and what it not has been debated among the public and journalists since its inception. 

Ethics, according to Merriam-Webster, is "the discipline dealing with what is good and bad with moral duty and obligation." As a journalism student, I often hear professors say that we will have to face many ethical dilemmas throughout our careers. How can I be equipped to handle that? Many argue that you should always trust your gut. But, your gut isn't always right, and many times a supervisor wouldn't like to hear "I just feel like this is right" as reasoning for a big decision that could highly effect the company. 

Thankfully, we have centuries of philosophers and thinkers who have helped theorize what is right and what is wrong. These theories and ideas, along with countless examples from the past, help guide our reasoning to find the best practice. 

Teleology is a branch of philosophy that concentrates on the outcome of an action as a way to determine whether something is right or wrong. In teleology, the goal is to do the most good. In a situation, one should think about the possible outcomes, and choose which one will do the most good.

Deontology is another branch of philosophy that is based on rules. According to deontologists, one should always follow the rules, regardless of how just the rule might be.

Similar to teleology, utilitarianism also focuses on the outcomes of an action. In utilitarianism however, everyone is important and the consequences of an action are considered for everyone. Utilitarianism is used among many journalists because it ensures all people are considered.

Cultural norms are ideas and rules that society says are right and wrong, but are not usually legally the case. An example of a cultural norm in journalism is using AP style. Most news publications use this style for writing but there is no law saying that all news must be written this way.

According to a Gallup poll, the percentage of people who would rate the honesty and ethics of journalists as very low has significantly increased in recent years. With the current political climate, journalists have no room for slip ups when it comes to ethics.

Thankfully, the Society of Professional Journalists has a very simple and easy to understand code of ethics that can help guide journalists to make the right decision when faced with an ethical dilemma. The code of ethics outlines four main principles that all journalists should follow in their reporting: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable and transparent. The Society of Professional Journalists updates the code often to keep up with our constantly changing world.

From reporting on war to reporting on local business, ethics should play a part in every journalists' daily life. To answer the question posed in the title of this post, we all need ethics.