Chapter 16 – Interesting Point
Ethics in Journalism
Going to university in an age where people are focused on careers rather than learning and money rather than making a difference, it is easy to lose faith in the purpose of journalism. Throughout this semester I have read and heard so many things which suggest journalism is no longer a noble profession with the aim of educating and informing society. More and more media outlets are shifting their focus to entertainment and advertising and steering clear of hard-hitting news stories. So do the words ‘journalism’ and ‘ethics’ fit together any more? An article by Lee Wilkins and Renita Coleman called ‘Ethical Journalism is not an Oxymoron” says that the bad decisions which become prominent in society and give journalists are more than counterweighted by all the good decisions made by less well-known journalists and editors. They say: “After testing a national sample of journalists we found that those who do this work are both able and subtle moral thinkers.” You can find this article at: www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/05-2NRsummer/52-53V59N2.pdf
I read through several articles on line and each one I found seemed to emphasise the existing ethics embedded in journalists. Many stories focused on the moral values of journalists and the way they are often given a bad name by the few bad journalists. I actually found it hard to find a negative story on journalists, despite the common belief that the public and other businesses have a general dislike of the profession. The few articles I did find such as ‘Journalists are Bad for Your Health’ explored the way in which journalist exaggerate things creating disillusionment in the reader. But it is common knowledge that sometimes stories need a little exaggeration to keep them from being boring, and I believe the average reader is smart enough not to swallow everything they read.
There will always be the odd response to stories and articles which represent a bitter reader who has vowed to hate all journalists due to past experience. But overall my research made me feel a lot more positive about the direction and role of journalism. I also found this clip which I think was a nice bit of inspiration, there are still people out there who believe in the impact of journalism.
