Non-journalists should Learn about Ethics in Relation to Journalism

Zachary DePiore

zacharydepiore@gmail.com

In the first chapter of Moral Reasoning for Journalists, authors Steven Knowlton and Bill Reader walk through many evolving morality systems in Western culture throughout thousands of years. They explain the history of morality systems because morality systems are integral to understanding the role of the modern journalist. More than that, it is to prove that ethics can be incredibly challenging, that journalists have an incredibly difficult task that's only getting more difficult, and that non-journalists don't always fully grasp these facts.

It's no secret that the modern American journalist is living in a world that is incredibly polarized towards them. According to information analyzed by Pew Research Center, the trust in the news is completely different along Democratic and Republican lines. In 2017, 89% of Democrats had trust in the news compared to 42% of Republicans. This was the most divided the country had been in regards to journalism and its objectivity in the past 32 years. 

Picture source: Pew Research Center

Why has journalism become so polarizing? A large part of this also has to come down to non-journalists and their understanding of ethics in regards to journalism. Moral Reasoning for Journalists goes through various different Western morality systems that, in some capacity, are still used in journalism today. It also briefly mentions certain Eastern philosophies, such as Buddhism. 

Aristotle's view on moderation, deontology, and utilitarianism are all discussed as having merit and importance in today's media world. It stresses the importance of not analyzing a certain situation or certain story from one worldview. If this were the case, articles would be informed by a very narrow and unworldly point of view. 

This chapter succinctly explained why all these emerging morality systems make capturing the truth that much more complicated. There are many valid lenses to view a story from. Sometimes, non-journalists who are unaware of all these different morality systems that are used to write articles will expect an article to be written with only one specific morality system. 

This might make them think that the journalist was sloppy and didn't consider the ethics of the case, when it may have been just the opposite.  Non-journalists don't always consider that the journalist had a completely different ethical system in mind while writing the article. It can also lead people into thinking that journalists would have a corrupt motive. The article mentions money, political bias, spinmeisters, and tabloid journalism as reasons people give to reinforce their pre-existing distrust in journalists.