Journalism ethics and standards are comprised of the basic principles of good practice which are applicable to the journalistic profession (print, broadcast and online journalism). Journalism ethics and standards are a subset of media ethics which serve as the professional code of conduct (Smith, 2008, pg. 5). Media ethics forms what is commonly referred to as the “canons of journalism.” Journalism promotes justice and is the foundation of democracy. A journalist’s duty is to seek the absolute truth and provide a fair, accurate and a full account of events. Ethics in journalism strives to ensure that the public is served with thoroughness and honesty. Traditionally, the journalistic standards guiding the profession covered broad topics ranging from principles of truthfulness, objectivity, accuracy, impartiality to fairness and public accountability. The rapidly changing media environment, mainly as a result of technological advancements, has seen the journalistic ethics and standards being affected (Smith, pg. 7). This paper would discuss the journalistic standards, describe how they have been affected by the rapidly changing media environment and propose possible solutions on how they can be maintained.
Journalistic Ethics and Standards
The fundamental principles of the journalism profession are the respect for the truth and the public’s right to information. Journalists play a key role of conveying information and spreading ideas and opinions. Journalists inform the citizens and animate democracy. Journalists give a practical from to the freedom of expression. Although many journalists work in private enterprises, they all have public responsibilities. Accountability is one of the requirements of a journalist. Journalists should be accountable for all their actions and take responsibility at all times. Accountability prompts trust. Without trust, the journalists do not fulfill their responsibilities to the public. As a result, the journalistic ethics and standards exist to ensure that the journalists abide by the professional ethics required of the profession (Gordon, 3).
One of the fundamental standards of practice is that the journalists should seek the truth and report it as it is (McBride & Rosenstiel, 2014, pg. 3). It is expected of journalists to be fair, honest and courageous in the gathering, reporting and the interpretation of the information. It is expected of journalists to test the accuracy of their sources of information and exercise care to prevent incidences of inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion of the information is never allowed. Journalists should only report information in accordance with the facts of which they know their origin and should never falsify documents or suppress essential information. They are also expected to use fair methods to obtain information.
Journalists are expected to minimize harm in as much as they could (Brown & Black, 6). This standard ensures that journalist treat news sources, subjects and their colleagues as human beings worthy of respect. This relates to the democratic accountability of the journalists. Journalists should be committed not to cause harm in any given case and should do the utmost to rectify any potentially published information that may cause harm (McBride & Rosenstiel, 2014, pg. 5). They are expected to show compassion to those who may be adversely affected by the news coverage. Journalists should be sensitive to any pieces of information that may affect the public or the communities in which the information was gathered. Journalists are expected to exercise caution in the publishing and conveying of information to the public.
Another key journalistic standard is that journalists should act independently (Goodwin, 12). Journalists are expected to avoid any attachment to political, commercial and any other interests that may interfere with or perceived to be interfering with their work. Professional journalists are expected to avoid any conflicts of interest, either real or perceived. They should protect the right of the public to information at all times and never take sides with regards to issues. Journalists should avoid associations that may damage credibility or compromise integrity. Accountability is another key ethical standard that should be upheld by the journalists. The journalists are accountable to the public that include their readers, viewers, listeners and each other. Journalists should be able to admit mistakes and expose unethical practices. They are expected to maintain the high standards by which they hold others. Other key issues such as plagiarism, slander, malicious misinterpretation and corrupt practices among others are seen as unethical practices.
Media Ethics and the Rapidly Changing Media Environment
The rapid technological advancement has had a huge impact in the media environment ((Zion & Craig, 2014, 1). Currently, there many channels of conveying information to the public that include websites, blogs and social media. These new channels have changed how information is transmitted, portrayed and consumed by the public. The social media revolution, in particular, has had a huge impact to the media environment. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are increasingly being used to pass on timely information and can be used to convey information to a wider population fast and efficiently. In this digital age, news sources such as the newspapers stand the threat of being faced out. New media sources have affected the journalistic ethics in that they bring about the questions of accuracy, reliability of the sources, credibility of the news and impact of the new to the wider population among others. The fundamental values of journalism have changed to accommodate interactive online journalism. Online journalism today is all about reporting stories in the shortest possible time and with few words. This brings about the issues concerning facts or accuracy. As a result, it is viewed that the digital age has changed the fundamental media ethics.
Globalization has also seen media houses having a more global presence. CNN and Aljazeera, for example, have a more global presence. With globalization, there is the question of different cultures and the effect on journalistic standards and ethics. Cultural differences exist in different parts of the world and hence what may be seen as a violation of journalistic ethics in one part of the world may not be a violation in the other. This issue has brought about the need of having a global journalistic ethic code. Globalization has also brought about the issue of global responsibilities. The use of new technological resources has seen reports reaching people all over the world and has influenced governments, humanitarian organizations and the military. Biased information may be used to incite ethnic communities against each other. Global responsibility of journalists is not usually reflected in most journalistic codes of ethics (Gordon & Armstrong, 15).
The changing journalistic roles have seen an effect in the media ethics. The professional role of the journalist has changed in relation to the basic level of daily work. The content of work covered by a journalist has changed tremendously. Today, a journalist handles production work, more tools and emphasis has shifted from research and content towards production and form. Emphasis is on the outputs based on the inputs. Journalists with a number of skills have to produce more with limited time to do research and verification of the sources. As a result there has been a case of changing media ethics to incorporate these changes in the roles of journalists (Gordon & Armstrong, 16).
Solutions on how Ethics can be maintained
The professional ethical standard should be enforced in relation to online reporting. It is the sole responsibility of the media to ensure that the information passed on to the public is accurate, factual, and credible and does not cause any harm to sources or the public. Media houses should be held responsible for information conveyed through the new channels of communication including the social media (Zion & Craig, 6). Even though the media industry is changing rapidly as a result of technology, media ethics should also change to ensure that the use of newer technologies do not compromise the journalistic ethical standards.
With globalization, the ethical standards have changed immensely. Concerted efforts should be directed by the media houses to ensure global media ethics. There should be standardized ethical codes governing the journalism profession to ensure accountability and responsibility. Through these codes, the issues related to accidental causes of global conflicts or conflicts among communities would be avoided. Even with the different cultures, measures should be taken to ensure protection of the public.
There should be a review and the establishment of principles on ethics, accuracy, reliability and personal rights while preserving the editorial freedoms on reporting and the types of public opinions to be expressed (McBride & Rosenstiel, 12). The promotion of these ethical standards would ensure media credibility with the public. These codes would also go a long way in protection of the lives of journalists. This is a great way of ensuring that the media houses have strong ethical codes and are self-regulated. The formation of professional bodies to monitor the journalistic conduct would also ensure that there are strong and effective standards and the media is self-regulating.
Works Cited
ALIA, V. (2004). Media ethics and social change. New York, Routledge.
BROWN, F., & BLACK, J. (2011). Journalism ethics a casebook of professional conduct for news media. Portland, Or, Marion Street Press.
GOODWIN, H. E. (1983). Groping for ethics in journalism. Ames, Iowa State University Press.
GORDON, D., & ARMSTRONG, J. S. (2011). Controversies in media ethics. New York, Routledge.
MCBRIDE, K., & ROSENSTIEL, T. (2014). The new ethics of journalism: principles for the 21st century. Los Angeles, SAGE.
SMITH, R. F. (2008). Ethics in journalism. Malden, MA, Blackwell Pub.
ZION, L., & CRAIG, D. (2014). Ethics for digital journalists emerging best practices. New York, Routledge.
