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What's the responsibility of the news media
The importance of ethics in journalism
The importance of ethics in journalism
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One quote from my readings says, “Under the protections and privileges of a free press is the responsibility to be fair.” Journalists make decisions while editing news. Each decision involves value judgments. Decisions have consequences that are direct and indirect as well as deliberate and not deliberate. Moreover, journalists’ decisions affect real human beings. Those decisions can sway thousands of people’s attitudes on topics such as political problems. Just as producers and reporters are expected to be careful selecting words and facts, photojournalists and editors have to apply the same amount of ethical professionalism and accuracy in editing images and sound. Editing in news storytelling requires a level of professionalism, responsibility and a commitment to the idea of ethics.
It’s easy to think of ethics as a “given” in any media profession, something every skilled journalist knows how to do as second nature, even a brief look at the latest track record of journalism demonstrates this isn’t the circumstance. Establishments such as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CBS News, and NBC News have been victims to serious ethical scandals. Ethics is certainly not a “given,” no matter how experienced the journalist or how established the news corporation may be. Further, ethics isn’t a virtue, something one has because he/she is good-hearted and sincere. Ethical behavior requires practice, hard work and watchfulness. Television news jobs are tougher to get and more challenging for persons who do get them than ever before in today’s quickly changing media environment. These anxieties can lead to letdown and bitterness.
Journalists assess their actions on professional and personal standards. They desire to make their news...
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...wars or finish them, to arouse the heart or sadden the soul, to provide hope or demolish it. The power journalists and editors hold is unbelievable—so much so that people are constantly attempting to steal it from us or limit it. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was partially aimed to shield Americans from such attacks, but it isn’t always up to the test. It’s therefore mandatory for journalists and editors to apply this remarkable power with sympathy, responsibility, modesty, a sense of ethics, and respect for the person. Less news viewers trust that journalists and editors do that.
Television news is one of the few professions obtainable that permits journalists to have a large influence on people’s lives, for better or worse, while having more fun than regulation permits. A journalist should have fun but never lose sight of the power in his/her hands.
In Rushworth Kidder’s book “How Good People Make Tough Choices,” Kidder provides a series of different methods, codes and examples of what being an ethical journalist could mean. He gives examples of different situations where a person’s ethics are tested and what would be a good way to deal with these situations. He starts by explaining the difference between things that are right-versus-right dilemmas, and those that are right-versus-wrong dilemmas.
Self-motivation and determination are two of the main ideals of being journalist. If a journalist does not have the desire to find and report a story, he has no career. A journalist depends on finding the facts, getting to the bottom of the story and reporting to the public, whether it’s positive or negative. Janet Malcom states in the book The Journalist and the Murderer, “Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible.” (Malcolm, 3) Her starting words speak volumes about “the Journalist and the Murderer” and the lessons that can be learned.
Since the beginning of journalism there has been a controversial debate over ethics and the extent to which a journalist may go to obtain a story. According to W.E.B. Dubois, integrity, honesty, decency, and courage are four primary ethical principles every person should follow. Author Janet Malcolm dives deep into the ethics of journalism in her groundbreaking publication The Journalist and the Murderer. Malcolm analyzes the ethics of best-selling author Joe McGinniss during his time developing a story on Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald.
In comparing ethical issues surrounding the journalists in “All The President’s Men” and “Welcome To Sarajevo”, there are several ethical issues that the journalists experienced. Ethics are an important aspect of journalism, since journalists face a multitude of ethical issues within their industry. Therefore, there are ethical guidelines that journalists’ use called “The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics” [SPJ Code of Ethics]. When analyzing how the journalists in “All The President’s Men” and “Welcome To Sarajevo”, one can refer to the SPJ Code of Ethics to observe the possible ethical issues the journalists experienced. The four main concepts in the SPJ Code of Ethics are: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently,
Would you lose your journalistic integrity over one million dollars just to increase your audience base? For me personally I would decline the money and not subject my audience to an unwanted change for personal gain. Neil Postman’s book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death”, argues that television is all about entertainment and nothing else. Postman makes several points in his book pertaining to televised news as examples. On the evening of January 31 2018, I decided to test Postman’s arguments by tuning into the PBS NewsHour. After putting Postman’s arguments to the test I soon found that they were correct; “if it bleeds it leads”, news anchors are just actors, stories of little value get little air time, and there is an overwhelming disconnect between stories.
The workers of the New York Times share a mutual understanding of what to write about and how they should go about doing it. According to Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, “The quality of the decisions journalists make from day to day is heavily influenced by editors and the culture of the newsroom” (243). Journalists find the facts but each of the editors and culture ...
...ers need no substantial ideologies and beliefs to run a country. As long as they create a “performance”, they can be trusted. In addition to being glamorous, a newscaster’s job is to simply report, free of all emotional ties from the story. If a reporter were to show any signs of terror or inflict a concerned tone of voice, the viewer would be quite disconcerted. “Viewers, after all, are partners with the newscasters in the “Now…This” culture, and they expect the newscaster to play out his or her role as a character who is marginally serious but who stays well clear of authentic understanding” (104). If story is in fact, grave, the audience will not perceive it that way because of the constant commercials and discontinuities throughout the program. Unlike a book that maintains a consistent tone and continuity of content, this is not the expectation of television.
In “Reporting the News” by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, the main idea is how the media determines what to air, where to get said stories that will air, how the media presents the news, and the medias effect on the general public. “Reporting The News” is a very strong and detailed article. The authors’ purpose is to inform the readers of what goes on in the news media. This can be inferred by the authors’ tone. The authors’ overall tone is critical of the topics that are covered. The tone can be determined by the authors’ strong use of transitions, specific examples, and phrases or words that indicate analysis. To summarize, first, the authors’ indicate that the media chooses its stories that will air
Overall, in the last few months of working in mock news days, I have learnt the true factors behind what we see on our television screens. It is a very narrow view on the world, and often a mixture of logistics and legislation prevent some news from even entering our televisions. I found that sometimes the most interesting and valuable of news topics is not picked in order to prevent things such as copycat behaviour and also because a person in unavailable. Broadcast journalism is heavily based on pictures for our viewers to be told the story, and that words are used just to enhance the story. Overall, I believe our mock news days have truly reflected what it is like to work in a real life broadcast environment, and the stress and pressures journalists work through in order to put news on our screens.
Journalism is just like anything else. There are manners and ethics that go along with it. The obvious number one rule is to tell the truth one hundred
Journalism and the Code of Ethics Introduction: What is the 'Standard' of the 'Standard Thesis - Current code is irrelevant to journalists. Why do you need to be a member? Importance of ethics in mass media. How to use [IMAGE]? A qualitative look Areas of concern ---------------- 1.
"Journalism Ethics Online Journalism Ethics Gatekeeping." Journalism Ethics for the Global Citizen. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .
Television and journalism have a relatively short history together, yet over the last sixty years, the two have become increasingly intertwined, perhaps even irreversible so. But this merger is between two opposing forces–one, a mass medium that inherently demands entertainment and the other, a profession most people hold responsible for information, for facts, which, for the most part, are inherently boring. So has television been beneficial for the American people? The people that our country’s founding fathers chose to hold responsible for electing those to be responsible for our country’s government? By exploring the history of television journalism, discovering how it came to be, and looking at current trends in the industry, I only hope to be able to give my own informed opinion.
“Power is the ability to define reality and to have other people respond to your definition as if it were their own (Nobles).” People fail to see responsible journalism as a crisis because it is so convenient to have news media make up your mind for you. The foundation of our personal philosophies stems from irresponsible journalism through the major news sources we consume, the exposure to less responsible entertainment, and the biased reporting enforcing negative stereotypes.
Meyers, C. (2010). The 'Standard Journalism ethics: a philosophical approach? Oxford University Press. Nordenstreng. K. (1995)