Kevin McIntyre
km675818@ohio.edu
kevinmcin11@gmail.com
It is very common for a journalist to be faced with ethical dilemmas regarding conflicts of interest, and one of the most effective and honest ways to deal with these dilemmas is through the practice of transparency. There are instances in which conflicts of interest cannot be avoided, and in those cases, the worst thing a journalist can do is pretend like they do not exist.
According to the Society of Professional Journalists' (SPJ) Code of Ethics, a journalist should: "Explain ethical choices and processes to audiences. Encourage a civil dialogue with the public about journalistic practices, coverage and news content." This is a sentiment that should be shared by journalists around the globe, as it is the best way to minimize harm and maintain a truthful relationship with readers or viewers.
Bias is something that is unavoidable when it comes to journalism. Every reporter is going to have opinions about a certain issue, but the true test of a journalist is being able to acknowledge those biases to him or herself. Moreover, a journalist should be able to acknowledge those biases to his or her audience. Once a journalist is able to be honest and transparent to an audience, the takeaway of a story is completely up to the reader, which is the goal of journalism.
Transparency can take many different forms when a conflict of interest arises. For example: in the case of KCRG, an Iowa news publication, a conflict of interest was formed due to the increase of copycat school shootings when reported on by the media. This put KCRG in a difficult situation; release information about school shootings that the public may want to know, or publish a story that could potentially lead to a similar crime.
To deal with this situation, the reporters at KCRG decided to be completely transparent with their viewers. In an article published in 2018, KCRG published a story about how they were not going to report on a story in which a threatening comment was reported to a local school. Instead of letting community members discover the news before they see a story, they stay ahead of the problem by acknowledging why a story was not published.
This is an example of how transparency can help journalists when it comes to conflicts of interest. Oftentimes, the only way to maintain a healthy relationship with readers while in the midst of a conflict of interest is to be completely honest.
I agree that a journalists transparency with their audience is imperative when it comes to ethical reporting. It is a concept that seems so simple in hindsight yet has its own complexities. I appreciated the KCRG example in the blog post. The example tied your main concept with a real world situation. This blog post raised the question in my mind, what holds back journalists from being transparent? Why would a journalist not want to or be hesitant to be transparent with their audience?
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