Going the Distance for Diversity

Meredith McNelis

mm132010@ohio.edu

We have become all too comfortable with taking the easy way out. In a place where libraries were the main source of knowledge, Google now reigns supreme. Journalists should not cover what is convenient to them; they should cover what is suitable for their audience. Diversity is lacking from many news outlets because many are taking the easy way out. They have to get up from their desks, step away from their computer screens and dive into reality. They must step back and include everyone in their community and audience.

Step Outside the Box

Most of the time, when students are assigned with a research project that involves interviewing fellow students, they turn directly to their neighbor that lives down the hall or a friend. In doing so, their friends may not answer the questions in an appropriate manner. They might just answer them in a way that they know the interview wants to hear. This creates a sort of bias in the reporting. Going to an outside source or someone you do not know as well, allows the interviewer to gain a different perspective. If the interviewee does not know them that well, it allows them to be more candid with their answers.

This creates a sort of lazy foundation that could be carried on to an aspiring journalist in the professional world. While it does not seem as big of a deal from a high school or college perspective, continuing on this sentiment in a newsroom is detrimental.  For example, how can a community, or even the nation, gain a solid insight to an election if they only have a select demographic reporting and gathering information on it? The infographic below displays just this problem.

The Atlantic

Most newsrooms that lack diversity, lack diverse reporting. Because of this, news stations may internalize worldwide issues and only report on them from their own perspectives. Why is this so? Because it is convenient. If a newsroom is run by predominantly Whites, their reporting directly reflects that because they often do not seek views outside their own. It is easy to report what you personally believe in and to interview people with similar view as your own, but it takes a determined and principled journalist to seek out other conflicting viewpoints. It should be second nature to do so, but for many it takes a conscious decision to step outside of the box.

Community Journalism as a Model for Success

Perhaps, major news stations should take a step back and look at community journalism. Yes, they do cover a smaller portion of the United States but what they do cover is all-inclusive. Smaller news publications and newsrooms look at their community under a microscope; they see everything that goes on, are involved in everything that goes on and feel that everything that goes on is important, vital information. The Tampa radio station WMNF does a great job in including their community in their news stories. They take people directly from their community and allow them to host shows about all different races, demographics and ethnicities. This creates such rich diversity in their broadcasts because they are allowing novice reporters to come in and talk on a more personal level.      

To report on an all inclusive, unbiased nature, journalists must create further diversity in their news coverage. Whether it is making a conscious decision to put personal ideals aside and incorporate a diverse range of information or including people directly from your community, diversity must be present. Without it, how can people paint a clear picture of the differences in a society?  

Gender Identification Controversy

Carly Maurer
cm744511@ohio.edu

After Private Manning declared that she planned to live out the rest of her life as a woman, the media was in a frenzy to decide what was the appropriate way to refer to her.

A handful of news outlets decided to respect her wishes and refer to private Manning as Chelsea Manning from here on out and use feminine pronouns. Among these were Reuters, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Daily Intelligencer and The Huffington Post.

The fact that so many media outlets decided not to, however (including The New York Times, CNN, ABC News and The Associated Press), was a horrible decision in my eyes.

What About the Transgender Community?

This decision shows they are out of touch with the transgender demographic in our society. The Associated Press Stylebook states the following about the term transgender:

“Transgender - An umbrella term (adj.) for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. The term may include but is not limited to: transsexuals, cross-dressers and other gender-variant people. Transgender people may identify as female-to-male (FTM) or male-to-female (MTF). Use the descriptive term preferred by the individual. Transgender people may or may not decide to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically.”

Who cares if you don’t want to call Manning ‘she’ because she still has a male genitals?  As a reporter for a news outlet, it is not about you or your beliefs! She asked to be referred to as a girl, she has made the decision to biologically become a girl, and she already considers herself a girl despite the fact that her body represents that of a male. They should have followed the AP Stylebook and used the term she preferred.

The proper term at a drag queen show is ‘she,’ and I’m sure it is safe to say that a number of them have not had a gender change surgery. Why did so many news sources find it necessary to use surgery as a quota for being referred to as a woman? These major publications should have respected her wishes and her right to self-identify. As Janet Mock tweeted, “Self-determination is a cornerstone of our nation.”

The decision to continue calling her Bradley and ‘he’ was disrespectful to the LGBT community. The Transgender Law Center even tweeted that the media should refer to Manning as Chelsea, ‘she’ and ‘her.’

This decision sparked a lot of debate, some of which is showcased on Storify. One of the posts that stuck out to me was David Walton’s, “You can oppose what Chelsea Manning did and still think she’s entitled to be referred to with the correct name and pronouns” tweet. I think he is exactly right. By referring to Manning with the ‘she’ pronoun, news outlets would not be saying they support her or don’t support her. They would simply be respecting her wishes and choosing not to alienate a giant demographic of people in the U.S.

Credit: CBS News

Public Confusion 

As for thinking the public would be confused, news outlets could simply clarify in their articles. One can even say something like “Private Manning, who from now on wishes to be referred to with feminine pronouns or as Chelsea….”  I don’t see anything harmful in doing this. Times public editor Margaret Sullivan explained that their goal was to provide clarity to their readers and respect the subject's preferences. Why did they find this so hard to do?

“It’s tricky, no doubt. But given Ms. Manning’s preference, it may be best to quickly change to the feminine and to explain that — rather than the other way around,” Margaret Sullivan declared.

I think she came to the right decision and I was glad the Times was transparent about this decision but I still believe they waited too long. They were not among the first to make the decision to use the term ‘she.’ It seems to me they were overly hesitant and are now going back and trying to explain after the fact, which is exactly what Sullivan indicated wouldn’t be the best way to handle this change.

What About Music Artists?

New York Magazine had a very good point in their article when they brought up the fact that music artists change names all the time. People don’t stop to wonder which one they should call them, instead they respect their wishes and call them by their new name. The fact that there is stigma encompassing the switching of names with regard to sex change shows a bias in the reporting and, in my honest opinion, a lack of acceptance.

The decision to continue referring to Manning with masculine titles was a big mistake by the majority of the media. I think it sadly damaged our credibility and supported the public’s perception that the media is biased toward the majority and does little to speak for those who are underrepresented. It is time that we remember journalism is about giving a voice to the voiceless, not amplifying those already being heard.

There are no stupid questions

Alexandra Newman
an077811@ohio.edu

As an advocate for human rights, I think that everyone needs to be considerate of what people identify as, whether that be gender, sexuality or anything else. In the case of Bradley Manning, or as she is known now as Chelsea Manning, I think the media needs to be respectful of her choices.

Although it may be true that she does not really identify as a woman and is just doing this to be in a woman’s prison instead of a men’s prison, it is imperative that we recognize the bigger picture here.

A blog post on the Human Rights Campaign website does a good job of summing up the whole situation. It makes a point to say, “What should not be lost is that there are transgender service members and veterans who serve and have served this nation with honor, distinction and great sacrifice.”

Just because society as a whole can’t figure out how to accept the LGBTQA community (even Pvt. Manning’s Wikipedia page is confused), doesn’t mean that our journalists should be just as ignorant. Equality starts by recognizing every one is different and was raised a little bit different. The media needs to compensate for this by being fair.

It is our duty as news gatherers and presenters to be fair to what people want/feel/are. We can’t be fair, one of those concrete ethical rules, by not respecting the trans community.

Photo courtesy of people.com.

Something else I would like to point out is that transgendered and transsexual are two different things. Transsexual is after you get the surgery to become a male or female and transgendered is “all in your head” and how you present yourself on the outside.  I have noticed that people use these interchangeably and that is not fair.

When the pregnant man came into the news a couple years ago people freaked out. They couldn’t just accept that this person was born with female reproductive parts and just doesn’t physically look like a female and that they identify as a man.

Something else I would like to point out is that not everyone fits into the gender binary. Some people don’t identify as a man or woman. When this occurs people freak out because they just simply don’t know what to do or how to act around these people. You should act the same around all people, because all people have feelings.

If you don’t know which pronoun to use with someone, use a gender-neutral pronoun like “they” or just ask them. In school they tell you to ask questions when you don’t know something; the same applies to the real world.

Now back to Chelsea Manning. She specifically sent out a letter asking to be called “she,” and I don’t think it gets much more simple than that. It is easy to be confused when this person has been in the news so much as “Bradley Manning”, but if we want to be fair to this person, no matter what they have done criminally, we have to respect their wishes.

If we were doing our jobs right at journalists and human beings then there would be no question in regard to what to call this or any person. Just ask what they prefer to be called. Even better yet, if they TELL YOU what they want to be called, your job is 100 times easier!

Journalism Fakes Hurting the Profession as a Whole

Emily Mueting

em561411@ohio.edu

Society of Professional Journalists, Radio Television Digital News Association, American Society of Magazine Editors, Online News Association, Public Relations Society of America, American Advertising Federation and National Press Photographers Association are all organizations that fall under the journalism category. All of these organizations also have their own ethical codes that tend to follow for the basic ethical values of journalists. Ethical codes are used to help support values and assist journalists with the hard ethical choices they will face.

Similarities in codes among journalist organizations

Many of these codes overlap between the organizations, and that is due to the values they support. Trust, unbiased reporting and fairness, truth and independence from outside pressures are all important values that are universal among the journalistic world.

Another similarity in the codes of journalists is the idea of personal integrity. Because of this, codes are not enforced, but rather guidelines. RTDNA stresses in the preamble of their ethics code, truth. If a journalist does lie to the public, not only will they be breaking the values and codes, they will be hurting their own personal integrity. This was the case with Stephen Glass when he was discovered to be an unethical journalist.

Stephen Glass- Courtesy of vanityfair.com

Glass and public trust

Glass was a journalist for The New Republic who in 1998 was discovered to have fabricated stories for three years for TNR as well as other magazines. With fake sources, quotations and events over that time, it was aware to the journalistic world that it is more important than ever to be ethical journalists. Journalists like Glass give a bad name to their organization and journalism as a whole.

The public’s trust is currently quite low. According to the Pew Research Center’s data collected between July 17 and 21, 2013, 71 percent of people believe that journalists try to cover up their mistakes rather than admit them. In addition, 67 percent of these people believe that stories are often inaccurate.

As student studying journalism ethics, I find these numbers embarrassing. I understand how hard a truly ethical journalist works to preserve a positive image of journalism, however it is much harder to gain trust than it is to lose it. Just like the old saying about taking years to make friends and only seconds to lose them, it can take generations for the public to trust the journalists, and a few individuals to ruin it.

Even in Hollywood, journalists are portrayed in negative ways. For example, in the Spiderman trilogy, Peter Parker is a freelance photojournalist who makes a living by staging photos of himself as Spiderman to sell to the newspaper. Negative portrayals and real life frauds ruin the integrity of journalists everywhere.

Whether it is Peter Parker snapping a shot of himself swinging from a building or Stephen Glass dreaming up an entertaining and humorous story based on fictional events with quotes from people in his head, journalists need to look out for frauds and make sure they follow the values of journalism and the codes established by journalist organizations like RTDNA and SPJ in order to ensure the public that the news they consume is trustworthy and factual.

Cracking the Code

Meredith McNelis

mm132010@ohio.edu

Journalism is not what it used to be. Online forums, blogging and the digital world as a whole have reshaped this profession. Heck, it feels like you don’t even have to be a ‘professional’ to be one of today’s "journalists." Because of the growing ambiguity of this career, the code of ethics it adheres to must alter as well.

The other obvious issue that arises is how can there be one universal definition of what is ethical? Every person has a different idea of what is morally acceptable and fitting to one’s character.

What is Ethics?

When boiled down to its pure definition, ethics simply means “character”, derived from the Greek word ethos. It is what a person, or organization, believes is morally acceptable; what is in good character of someone.

Theory of Knowledge

Ethical Public Relations

I took a personal interest to the Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics since I am a Strategic Communications major and am a member of PRSSA. When being a part of an organization that’s job is to represent other companies branding and standards, it is imperative that you think in terms of that client. One of their main points is building trust. The fact that they not only want to gain trust within their clients, but their own employers and the public as well, is something that I think is vital to a successful PR firm.

Not Set in Stone

Is it really possible for everyone who is a part of an organization to have the same opinions and moral compass? People are raised differently, have different beliefs, have distinctive characteristics; it’s hard to fit everyone in a box. If you are applying for a job or are a part of an organization, you may not always fall into the same ethical standpoint as their code. I think that a person should not have to adhere to a company’s ethics if it does not match their own, but the person should seek out a job that holds the same ethical code as them.

There is a section in PRSA’s Code of Ethics that is ever changing. They have a portion called Provisions of Conduct that “are actual examples of misconduct” and “more will be added as experience with the code occurs.” They understand that the world of journalism and public relations is constantly shifting. Most codes do not include such sections. For example, Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics was adopted in 1996 and has not been revised sense. I am pretty sure journalism is not the same as it was 17 years ago, so shouldn’t their rules evolve as well?

The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

I do believe however that every code, and everyone, should remain truthful. As journalists, or public relations professionals, it is our job to report the truth. The public puts their trust in credible reporting and do not want to weed through what is real or not. If a person does not think that reporting false information is unethical, journalism is probably not the profession for them.

Ethics is hard to condense into one simple term. It is different from person to person and changes daily. Technology and the advancement of journalism and public relations play important roles as well in shaping ethics.