Ethics entail the acceptable standards and principles that guide behaviors of individuals or groups in society. Ethics have continued to prevail in diverse spheres of human life with the aim of establishing the right conduct while maintaining an equitable balance between various players in society. The media is one of the areas that ethics have been adopted to ensure that dispersion of information avoids manipulation, lies and conflict with the law. Media ethics have continued to espouse principles of accuracy, truthfulness, impartiality, objectivity, public accountability, and fairness. All these principles are enforced by set code of practices that have been formulated and implemented by journalists globally. These ethics, however, vary from country to country due to disparities in culture, beliefs, morals, norms et cetera.
“The News” element of the media happens to be the most focused on when it comes to ethics and ethical discussions. This is because it is the basic tenet of information dissemination in journalism and media as a broad area. Journalists’ and media houses’ credibility is judged by how well they report and disseminate information to the public domain. In recent times, the press has been criticized for ignoring the set standards of journalism. Media bias has been cited, as modern reporting’s most controversial issue (Ravi, 2014). The over reliance of sound bites has also been pinpointed as another area of concern in modern reporting. The usage of sound bites has affected the objectivity of news items and isolating the public from the much needed news context. There have also been rising cases of deliberate news manipulation in the name of setting public agenda by media houses or through undue influence from other societal figures (Singh, 2013). Modern reporting has also withstood the worst of sharp criticism due to its selective reporting which is characterized by double standards, as well as spiking. These allegations are mostly rife in newspapers.
News reporting principles have always been guided by the ethical theory of Utilitarianism. This ethical theory posits that any proper action course ought to be one that results into a maximized positive effect. Role, responsibility, and ethics: a media study article notes that this theory advances that greater good of the majority is the ultimate measure of what is right or wrong in a society. Journalism focuses on the majority’s perception on issues, beliefs, culture, and norms. The utilitarianism is oriented towards consequences of human action. In this instance, the ethical theory focuses on the consequences of journalist’s actions when it comes to news reporting. The journalists should focus on providing the public with objective, factual, and impartial information at the expense of what they deem as self-gratifying. The news should always focus on the public’s right to know and simultaneously produce highest ratio of pleasure to pain. In order to advance this, the media houses and journalists should ensure their news items are accessible to all, by focusing on proportionality and equality. The utilitarianism ethical theory is also enhanced by the diversity of news items incorporating emerging issues and various audience segments. News objectivity is another element supported by utilitarianism ethical theory. Objective journalists should focus on providing factual and impartial news to the public. Factuality in this sense is focused on relevance, truthfulness,and usefulness of news items. Impartiality on the other hand captures the need for journalists to provide balanced and neutral news reporting (Ravi, 2014).
Deontology is another ethical theory that is used in the establishment of code of ethics that guide news reporting. This theory is based on the rights and duties of news agents or journalists. It focuses on the acts of the journalist as they aim to disseminate information to the public. It contrasts the utilitarianism, which focuses on the consequences of actions taken by individuals (in this case journalists and media houses). Media Debates On Ethics At ‘Frames’ Conclave by Singh Gurbir reveal that journalists should pursue their duties diligently and ethically in order to meet the news reporting yearned by the public. The theory further supports the dominance of duty over inclination. The news disseminated by the journalists should be within their duty’s domain rather than personal preference. This means that journalists should stick within the journalism code of ethics rather than what they deem right or proper. Motives are vital in this ethical theory. The motives of the journalist or a news item are essentially the key tenets of best principles or practices in news reporting (Singh, 2013).
In conclusion, it is prudent to understand that news and news reporting like any other societal function is guided by ethics or best principles of practice. Media houses and the constitutions of different states enforce these principles. Compliance to these principles ensures that the public’s right to know is satisfied. It also ensures that the right to know is backed by other elements such as accuracy, truthfulness, impartiality, objectivity, public accountability, and fairness. The news reporting ethics predominantly incorporate the ethical theory of Utilitarianism globally. This ethical theory posits that any proper action course ought to be one that results into a maximized positive effect. Deontology is another ethical theory that guides the code of ethics in news reporting. It focuses on the acts of the journalist in their endeavors to disseminate information to the public. It contrasts the utilitarianism which focuses on the consequences of actions taken by individuals and rather dwelling on the duties of those disseminating the news.
References
Ravi, B. D. (2014, February 10). Role, responsibility and ethics: a media study. The Hindu [Delhi], p. 32.
Singh, G. (2013, March 12). Media Debates on Ethics at ‘Frames’ Conclave. Business World [New York].
