Ethical Thinking: Why Should We Trust Journalist

Liam Cunningham 

lc218118@ohio.edu 

Today journalists are troubled with the issue of professional ethics. Journalism is at rock bottom when it comes to trust among its readers. Ethics in Journalism is important, and every journalist should consider this in every story. The issue of ethical thinking in the journalism field is often omitted and not paid close attention too. According to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, journalists should be accountable, act independently, and minimize harm. 

When it comes down to accountability, journalist should take responsibility for there work. They should be explaining one's choice to the media. Being trustworthy, also plays a big factor when it comes down to being accountable. Trust is important in all levels of management within society. Trust in the business field, especially public relations is the main pillar of relationships with employees and customers. Trust is gained overtime by recognizing mistakes and correcting them expeditiously. 

Acting independently meaning thinking objectively while being ethical, is important. Ethics revolve around virtue, meaning differentiating between what is right and what is wrong. Taking the same steps, and following the same route as someone's opinion can lead to determining ethical standards of someone else. Avoiding conflicts of interest also leads to good ethical thinking. 

Lastly, minimizing harm plays a role when it comes down to being ethical. Understanding both sides of the totem pole on a situation leads to minimizing harm. Showing compassion for those whom may be affected by a certain news story. Another good way that we see harm being minimized is by understanding situations in the cultural aspect. 

Picture Source: https://ajr.org/2014/04/09/new-code-spj-struggles-define-rules-online-journalism/

Money plays a major factor in today's time and a lot of work is produced upon wealth. This leads to many problems within ethical writing. It allows organizations to be bias, lie, and present inaccurate information just to boost their revenue. This is where trust between a journalist and its audience needs to be in place. 

In today's settings, technology gives anyone the opportunity to create news and share it despite how accurate the information is.  So how should we trust journalist who use ethical thinking in there field of study? In the article published by Missoulian, called Journalism 101:Ethics Essential To Maintaining Trust journalist seek and report the truth of everything. Why do they do this? They do this to create/maintain credibility among there audiences. There roles as journalist is to gather and present honest information to the people that are listening.