Ethics of Journalism

Gabby Piwowar

gp566220@ohio.edu

From the first formation of a society, communication has become inevitable. As social beings we have an innate desire to socialize, gossip, and learn about the world around. Simple exchange of information has grown and evolved into the ever changing world of journalism. 

The Start of Journalism in America 

Picture source: Bostons Publick Occurences

In 1690 Benjamin Harris published the first colonial news sheet, Boston's Publick Occurences Both Forreign and Domestick. As discussed in A Brief History of Journalism, the new world was quickly running rampant with news and opinions. Everyone was concerned with what was happening in their own community and those around it.

Publishers understood even from the early stages of journalism that they had a duty to the public to create fair and honest print. Although journalism has ebbed and flowed with the changes of the technological world, there is a constant drive to maintain the ethical code that ensures journalism remain a reliable source of information. 

Journalism vs. Misinformation

Journalism and spread of news started as word of mouth and printed press to instant posts and constantly updated feeds. This high-speed environment has created new challenges and increased the opportunities for misinformation to spread.

As more and more people are reliant on smartphones and social media to digest their daily supply of news, the less reliant they have become on hard factual journalism. The ease of Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites has caused subscribers to quickly accept a post as truth without any sources or question its validity. Journalism's job is to challenge the spread of misinformation and produce a fair and factual publication. This is where trust and ethics play a major role in the survival of true journalism. 

Importance of Ethics

As a journalist there is a responsibility to provide truthful, factual, and objective information. Writing without ethics defeats the entire purpose of the creation of journalism. Upholding these ethics creates a trustworthy relationship with the people journalism is serving. 

The Elements of Journalism describes "The primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing." Communities rely on journalism to define and create a common knowledge, goals, and identity. Journalists of the future need to keep the standards of ethics in mind while taking on this new challenge of information overload. 

For journalism to remain reliable and necessary, it is crucial for journalists to listen and absorb what the public is sharing and organize it to create a factual publication. Maintaining a relationship with the public keeps journalism trustworthy and promotes the sense of community that journalism has been built upon.