Journalism Ethics

“Ethical journalism requires conscientious decision-making in context”

Morality in general can be defined as shared rules, norms, values and beliefs that determine specific behaviour during human interaction and plays a vital role in any performed action. A morally and or ethically sound decision should involve questions like whether it is accepted by others in the society, will this behaviour or action cause harm to someone, to the society or the environment, or are the facts considered in the decision correct? All such factors must be well thought-out according to the context in order to make an appropriate decision. Similarly, ethical journalism requires conscientious decision making.

In order to understand the implementation of ethics and codes in journalism it is important to understand what is meant by the word ‘ethics’. Velasquez et al (2010) states that ethics refer to rational standards of right and wrong that direct humans what they are supposed to do in ‘in terms of rights, obligations, benifits to society, fairness or specific virtues’. These ethical standards include values related to rights, rights to freedom from harm and injury, the right to privacy and so on. Callahan (2003) enlightens that ethical journalism require truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, fairness, public accountability which make up the components of the standard universal code that gives the news more credibility and weight.

However, the standards set by these ethical guidelines and codes can be deliberately misinterpreted and used for a particular objective by journalists and this can disregard the main essence of truthfulness required in this field. News organizations with underpinned political agendas can overthrow ethical values without considering its impact on people and or societies as Grynko and Tsetsura (2010, p.3) say that lack of disclosure of influences and constraints placed on journalists in the newsroom is merely a ‘non-transparency’. According to them such non transparent practices goes against journalism ethics and can negatively influence public trust and confidence, also challenge and weaken professionalism in journalism and only disdain ethical values.

Deemed as watchdogs or the regulators, journalists hold the power of shaping the perception of a society. According to AJA Code of Ethics (2010) journalist’s role of conveying ideas, opinions and disseminating information to the public is a privileged responsibility. They scrutinize power but also exercise it and should be accountable for it. The basic codes of journalism need to be understood in regard with the context.

Grynko and Tsetsura (2010, p.3) in their article further explain that a journalist should be open and honest with their audience. Honesty, fair judgment and news values are among the many factors that define journalistic principles and give credibility to their work. Violation of these codes is practiced worldwide not only in representing information but also in the process of its collection. Sawant (2003, p.17) states that journalism holds power in today’s modern society which can be illustrated by the fact that there is no subject that journalism cannot comment and or has gone untouched by its criticism. ‘Ethics are larger than law. What is not illegal may be unethical’. This abuse has led to the need of an appropriate system and a though process to check the influences on journalism in order to keep it truthful and accurate. There are abundant ways through which the media can offend without breaching the law.

For instance, Ward (2008, p.2) explains that throughout the years US reporters in covering climate exchange have practiced ‘false balance’ in news reporting. One element of SPJ code of ethics is to ‘give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid’. Another tells reporters to ‘support open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant’ (SPJ, 2011). However this does not mean to engage in practices such as giving more space to perspectives that are widely accepted judgment about climate change in proportion to real scientific evidence. Without balanced and acknowledged credibility journalists should not propagate information of measurable impact on an issue as important as global climate change.

Journalists should be loyal to their audience by being as truthful and honest as possible. In the course of fulfilling these responsibilities journalists go through decision making process which may not be coherent to a certain set of code of ethics. Franklin (2005) says that code of ethics help journalists to make important choices on daily basis however it is their conscience that serves as their ethical guide when no formal standards give clear and or precise guidance to establish whether a decision is right or wrong. It can be very challenging to make the right decision within a given time frame and situation. The National Union of Journalist Malaysia (NUJM, 1998) Code of Ethics say that journalists should report according to correct facts whose origin he is aware of and the information should not be suppressed or falsified.

There are many factors that influence ethical decision making for journalists. According to Ferrel and Greshman (1985, p. 90) individual factors that comprise of values, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and intentions are vital and crucial components for conscientious decision making. Other factors that can motivate ethical actions are ‘significant others in the organizational setting’ and ‘opportunities for ethical/unethical actions’ for example forming and maintaining professional codes and corporate policies, reward and penalty system within the organization.

Additionally, there are various other factors other than the above mentioned internal aspects that influence the decision making process through ethical decision making which are also driven by many personal, intrinsic and or external motivations. As individuals, the way journalists report it is quite influenced by the way they think. For example a form of decision making in looking for news value is itself practiced by the journalist as an individual. The journalist’s own perception would affect the choices he or she makes in the newsroom.

Bruno (2008, p. 15) explains that an individual’s value system plays an essential role in how journalists see their jobs and fulfill their responsibilities. Journalists are drawn to the profession by a sense of social responsibility.

He further explains that codes of ethics of an organization and the individual work coherently in the environment of a newsroom. The newsroom is a network of many individuals that ‘exist in the form of relationships between colleagues’. A ‘sense of self’ of that group brings out a ‘preferred vocabulary’ which also influences the process of ethical decision making. Black, Steele and Barney’s (1997) say that journalists should seek others perspectives in their daily decision-making process. Inside the newsroom, it is the fellow journalists and editors who journalists seek for help and advice. According to Weaver and Wilhoit’s study as cited by Bruno (2008, p.15) two of the greatest influences on the personal ethics of a journalist are the newsroom itself and the senior editor in charge of it.

Hence inside the newsroom environment it is very important to seek advice and help from fellow co-workers as more experienced journalists and editors can help journalists in making better ethical journalistic decisions. According to the findings when confronted with ethical problems journalists would rather consult co-workers or supervisors before consulting the model code of the news organization. Furthermore journalists place more importance to their own personal code of ethics which has a large influence of their moral/religious considerations (Bruno, 2008 p.20).

The role of journalism requires self moral commitment in coherence with the standard ethical code and that of the newsroom and the organization. Ethics in journalism is not an option as it fuels the purpose and practice of real truthful and honest journalism. Everyday routine of a journalist require gathering and collecting information, filtering sources according to its credibility, authenticity and reliability, writing and rewriting until the final piece goes to the editor and hence published for the public. Journalists struggle with their conscience in making ethical decisions inside the newsroom. In order to maintain the trust of public the whole reporting process requires passing through a structured framework of ethical guideline, proper supervision and monitoring throughout and a well set environment in the newsroom to regulate conscientious decision-making in journalism. Ethical journalism only comes with conscientious decision making as without the practice of it the real purpose of journalism is dead.

References
AJA Code of Ethics (2010), Austrailian news, viewed on http://www.australian-news.com.au/codethics.htm

Black, J, Steele B, Barney, R (eds) 1997, Doing Ethics in Journalism, 3rd edn, Allyn & Bacon, Boston.

Bruno, B (2008), Transmission, Translation and Transformation: Communication of Ethical Codes in the Newsroom, Conference Papers -- International Communication Association; 2008 Annual Meeting, p1-37

Callahan, S 2003, ‘New challenges of globalization for journalism,’ Journal of Mass Media Ethics, vol. 18, no.1, pp. 3-15.

Ferrell, O, & Gresham L (1985), ‘A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision-making in marketing’, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49, pp. 87–96.

Franklin, B, Hamer, M, Hanna, M, Kinsey, M, Richardson, JE 2005, Key Concepts in Journalism Studies, Sage, London.

Grynko and Tsetsura (2010), Matters of Media Ethics, Understanding Media Nontransparency Through Individual Approach to Journalistic Ethical Decision-Making, Conference Papers -- International Communication Association; 2010 Annual Meeting, p1.

NUJM (1998), ‘National Union of Journalists Malaysia’. Viewed on 9th June 2011, http://nujstar.org/

Sawant, P (2003), 'Accountability in Journalism ', Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 18: 1, 16-28.

SPJ (2011), SPJ Code of Ethics, viewed on 9th June 2011, http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

Velasquez, M, Andre, C, Shanks, T & Meyer, M (2010). What is Ethics? Viewed on 8th June 2011, http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html
Ward, B (2008), ‘Journalism Ethics and climate change reporting in a period of intense media uncertainity’, Ethics in science and environmental politics, Ethics of science journalism, pp. 1-3, http://www.int-res.com/articles/esep2009/9/journalism/e009pp3.pdf

References: AJA Code of Ethics (2010), Austrailian news, viewed on http://www.australian-news.com.au/codethics.htm Black, J, Steele B, Barney, R (eds) 1997, Doing Ethics in Journalism, 3rd edn, Allyn & Bacon, Boston. Ferrell, O, & Gresham L (1985), ‘A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision-making in marketing’, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49, pp. 87–96. Grynko and Tsetsura (2010), Matters of Media Ethics, Understanding Media Nontransparency Through Individual Approach to Journalistic Ethical Decision-Making, Conference Papers -- International Communication Association; 2010 Annual Meeting, p1. NUJM (1998), ‘National Union of Journalists Malaysia’. Viewed on 9th June 2011, http://nujstar.org/ Sawant, P (2003), 'Accountability in Journalism ', Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 18: 1, 16-28. SPJ (2011), SPJ Code of Ethics, viewed on 9th June 2011, http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp Velasquez, M, Andre, C, Shanks, T & Meyer, M (2010). What is Ethics? Viewed on 8th June 2011, http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html