The Big Question: Do ethics apply to journalism?
It's definitely not hard to be a critic of journalism, you could point out how much of it is probably bias or inaccurate or perhaps abusing a basic right by getting involved in the private lives of people just because they are rich or live a glamorous lifestyle or committed some kind of crime of passion or hate. We all are human and deserve the respect of not having our lives be a national broadcast or column in large newspaper's opinion section.
Some people don't like journalism because it doesn't seem to have any standards and doesn't seem to play by the rules of ethics and that is where the heart of the debate begins. Other people don't like the competition of the big networks who are always head to get the best story and just making matters worst.
Are we caught between the competition?
A web-site was created called www.journalism.org that was to help solve some of the problems with bad journalism had this to say:
"Increasingly, the profession seems overwhelmed by the sheer size of the media, by hidebound habits, by infotainment, by the quest for sensation and gossip, by the imperatives of the stock market or by a pursuit of ever-fragmenting audiences that lead us ever-farther from home. It is uncertain whether the essential mission of journalism--to be a public service for democracy--always remains clearly in mind. The crisis in journalism is a crisis of conviction." (www.journalism.org)
There have been some movies that have questioned the ethics of journalists like Return to Paradise where the Jada Pickett plays an American journalists that's wants to help, but because she exposed the story of the men with American men with drugs caused one of the of them in the Malaysian to be killed. And others like Broadcast News where a reporter fakes crying in a dramatic interview with a victim of a date rape and and All the Presidents Men where some journalists do some pretty dirty stuff to get what they need to expose one of the America's largest scandals.
There are a number of web-sites and magazines that criticize journalism
as being abrasive, cruel, and objective. But I think the issue here is far
more complicated then what we want to believe. In a business where writing
is being done about people's lives of course there will be discrepancy on
issues or on what is being said about people. That is what some people think
is wrong with journalism while other feels it is simply those people's opinion
and isn't terribly wrong.The fact that a lot of power is given to a person
who likes to write about different issues is what people have the problem
with.
There is a number of organizations that try to check up on journalists and
make sure they are doing their job accurately with fairness and without
biasness.
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Articles with examples of bad journalism At www.policy.com there are some briefs articles written that shared with the world some of sins of Journalism. More journalism spotlight points out the problems of journalism There are more examples of bad journalism at www.policy.com then anywhere else. |
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| Policy.com Today, Policy.com enjoys active participation by leading think tanks, advocacy groups, businesses, policy analysts, professors and other policy organizations both as content providers and as dedicated users of the site. Through years of relationship building with leading policy organizations, Policy.com has earned a reputation for its uncompromising editorial integrity and objectivity. |
| Accuracy in Media An organization dedicated to making sure Media is accurate, shunning anything that isn't. |
| Society of Professional Journalist The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation's largest and most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ also promotes the free flow of information vital to a well informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech and press. |
| Media Matters This site is sponsored by PBS in order to make the public aware of what really matters in the world of Journalism. |
| The American Society of Newspaper Editors This organization has a website that houses the Code of Ethics for over thirty newspapers nationwide. |
