The Tricky Landscape of Ethical Guidelines

 Cameron Robertson

cr102019@ohio.edu

In our current world, news and journalism are caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to its relationship with the public. The environment around news is one of serious mistrust and skepticism, created by journalistic faults, clickbait entertainment and a heavily politicized climate. That is why journalists must focus on their ethical guidelines and how to accurately follow them.

There are many codes of ethics for different types of journalists. There is of course the SPJ Code of Ethics, for the Society of Professional Journalists, as well as the RTDNA Codes (TV & Radio), ASME Codes (Magazine Editorials), NPPA Codes (Visual Journalists), IAE Principles (Advertising), PRSA Code (Public Relations), and finally ONA Values (Online News). No matter where someone may fall in the field of journalism, there is a set of ethical codes, values, or principles that should be followed.

What is important to remember about these, however, is that they are merely a voluntary set of guidelines rather than rules. If these codes were to be set as hard rules, it would infringe on the First Amendment and the Right of Free Speech. That is where, in my opinion, the dilemma for journalists is created.

Source: Ethical Journalism Network

Journalists should absolutely, 100% always be ethical in their reporting and sharing of news. But that isn't always the case. Enforcing ethical guidelines as rules rather than suggestions would help to make that a reality, but at the cost of the Right to Free Speech. Without this right, our nation as a whole and even journalism loses a key principle of its body. 

I believe the pull between enforcing ethics and leaving freedom of speech undisturbed is contributing to the negativity towards journalists, because it seems that journalists can't win. All of the ethical codes agree on one thing: that the truth is of utmost importance. Why can we not make that a rock-solid rule for journalists?

I think the best way to increase the trust between the public and journalists is to be able to somehow create a set of concrete rules that still allow Freedom of Speech to be expressed. There's honestly no way that we can't enforce simple ethical responsibilities and still allow journalists their freedoms? I find that hard to believe. 

The differing codes are a fantastic start. Despite being specific to different specializations of journalism, they are all eerily similar. Take a look at the SPJ Code of Ethics and the RTDNA Codes, and see just how similar the main principles are. 

https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

https://www.rtdna.org/content/rtdna_code_of_ethics

The three principles they share have to do with truth above all, acting independently, and being accountable for potential consequences. Despite being for different areas of journalism, the codes bear the same basic principles. So why can the codes not be combined and generalized into a set of rules?

Once the the guidelines begin to turn into concrete rules while maintaining free speech, the first step to repairing the relationship between journalists and the public will be taken.