Digital journalism needs its own comprehensive code of ethics

 Izzy Keller

ik926119@ohio.edu

Most college students have heard that digital and multimedia journalism is the industry's future. As the news organizations rapidly move towards the internet and social media, print newspapers and magazines have taken a backseat or, in some communities, become obsolete. Although this industry change has pushed the envelope for what is possible with news presentation, the rise of fake news, citizen journalism, and the viral nature of the internet have brought severe ethical dilemmas. To preserve public faith in the Fourth Estate, an entirely new code of ethics should be created focusing on digital journalism.

According to a 2016 study by the Pew Research Center, younger people prefer reading their news, while older people prefer watching the news. Secondly, 81% of people aged 18-29 years old read their news online, and 63% of people older than 65 years old read their news in the paper. However, these numbers slightly change when watching and listening to the news, as seen in the graph below. 

Image from Pew Research Center.

Although there is a clear, solid move towards digital journalism, there is an even more decisive move towards distrust in the media. According to a 2020 Gallup poll, an average of 40% of Americans distrust the media. Moreover, there is less trust in online-only journalism than traditional new sources. According to data from the American Press Institute, there is a remarkably high distrust in online-only journalism compared to other mediums. Additionally, a large portion of this distrust is thought to be due to partial news coverage, according to B. Rose Huber of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. 

The American Press Institute seems to agree with the notion about distrust by writing, "contrary to the idea that people now tend to trust news sources that share their point of view, taken together the findings suggest that rates of trust are highest for news operations that have less editorial opinion built into their model, such as local television news and wire services."

Graphic answering the question "how much do you trust the answer you get from ..."

Chart from American Press Institute.

The Online News Association (ONA) is an organization that focuses on digital journalism. ONA has its values on integrity, inclusivity, journalism ethics, excellence, community, and freedom of expression. However, while they have their values, they do not have their code of ethics for digital reporting. Given these results, one could look at the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics for guidance. These guidelines are an excellent source for any journalist; however, should digital journalism have ethical guidelines and codes?

Digital journalism has become its journalism sector with its specific considerations. The broad guidelines put out by SPJ are a unique starting point, but not making any strides and garnering more public support. Codes of ethics are voluntary, but creating one for digital journalism would be a step in earning back the public trust while putting out best practices for journalists and news organizations. The media industry is based on trust, and that trust is fading; creating guidelines certainly is not a quick fix to building back faith in the news--but it is an excellent place to start.