Media Responsibilities
Media Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the Media
David Rodriguez
Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility
SOC120
Benjamin Wright
July 29, 2013
Responsibilities of the Media
One of the unique things that set our country apart from others is our constitution; it allows us to enjoy the freedom that many others are not allowed to experience in the countries they live in. The constitution allows us the right to freedom of speech. However, as citizens we have responsibilities that we must adhere to for that freedom, as does the media which is a crucial influence in our lives. While media is helpful in keeping us informed they too have responsibilities to the viewers because it is still a business which not only relays local happenings, but also worldwide events through television, newspapers, and even radio, still many viewers are skeptical of what is believable and what is not when it comes to relying on many different sources. In presenting some of the ethical problems in media responsibility we will look at the one of the classical theories of utilitarianism that can resolve the problem along with the perspective of the emotivism theory. The term Media derives from the word Medium which is translated as, a means or agency for communicating or diffusing information, news, etc, to the public ("Medium," n.d.). The question of media responsibility is the focus more today than it has been in the past with critics and pundits continuously talking about rights and responsibilities (Chance, 1997). When it comes to comparing our media with that of other countries for example African media (Saka, 2012) we are bound by fairness, honesty, accuracy, and accountability that make up the responsibilities of freedom. Media carries some social responsibility, but ethically it has the responsibility of reporting the truth without any bias or misreporting, although today the media sometimes goes beyond its boundaries. Over the past sixty-five years the
Responsibilities of the Media
David Rodriguez
Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility
SOC120
Benjamin Wright
July 29, 2013
Responsibilities of the Media
One of the unique things that set our country apart from others is our constitution; it allows us to enjoy the freedom that many others are not allowed to experience in the countries they live in. The constitution allows us the right to freedom of speech. However, as citizens we have responsibilities that we must adhere to for that freedom, as does the media which is a crucial influence in our lives. While media is helpful in keeping us informed they too have responsibilities to the viewers because it is still a business which not only relays local happenings, but also worldwide events through television, newspapers, and even radio, still many viewers are skeptical of what is believable and what is not when it comes to relying on many different sources. In presenting some of the ethical problems in media responsibility we will look at the one of the classical theories of utilitarianism that can resolve the problem along with the perspective of the emotivism theory. The term Media derives from the word Medium which is translated as, a means or agency for communicating or diffusing information, news, etc, to the public ("Medium," n.d.). The question of media responsibility is the focus more today than it has been in the past with critics and pundits continuously talking about rights and responsibilities (Chance, 1997). When it comes to comparing our media with that of other countries for example African media (Saka, 2012) we are bound by fairness, honesty, accuracy, and accountability that make up the responsibilities of freedom. Media carries some social responsibility, but ethically it has the responsibility of reporting the truth without any bias or misreporting, although today the media sometimes goes beyond its boundaries. Over the past sixty-five years the
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