Conflict of Interest

 

Mylan Foster 

mf173318@ohio.edu 

It is essential not to have conflicts of interest when writing. Some things that can cause conflicts of interest are the journalist being close with someone they're writing about, whether their friend, family member or colleague. Other conflicts of interest in a journalist's writing would be voicing their political views, showing explicit biases in writing, and stating their own opinions. It is not a good thing to have conflicts of interest in writing because it can make the journalist come off as biased in the story they are telling. Even though journalists have the complete freedom to have their own opinions, thoughts, and ideas, they are expected to state the facts in their story and not provide an argument stating why something is right or wrong. Not only can conflicts of interest make the journalist seem as if they are unreliable and biased, but they can also make the entire news organization as a whole look bad. Journalists are the faces of news organizations, so providing extremely one-sided content cuts down the audience significantly.  

RTDNA has made bullet points on questions journalists should consider when considering conflicts of interest in writing. One of the questions is, "Does the subject matter of the story benefit the reporter, the manager, or the station?" It is essential to realize how content affects the audience and the people who work for the station. When journalists slap their personal views and beliefs onto their writing, it makes the audience believe that the news organization as a whole has the beliefs as that journalist. So how can we combat conflicts of interest in writing? The first step is to make sure these organizations hire people who will get the truth out without trying to persuade others of their biases. Another way is to make sure that editors point out bias being thrown into the writing. Finally, it is crucial to look at the consequences for the journalist and editor, no matter the consequence be made to the public or not.   

Sources:

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

https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/journalism1/conflict-of-interest/

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