Ethics in journalism

Introduction

            Human beings have the innate desire to exist in a group and this has attributed to the growth and development of different communities. Despite the desire to belong in a group however, people still hold on to personal traits that set them apart from other individuals. The existence of these personal traits has created the need for a set of laws and guidelines that are used to ensure that people engage in a way that does not cause discomfort or harm to others. Some of the approaches taken to ensure that members of society and elect leaders play their role include intervention by the media. People in society rely on the media for information and also as a tool to bring about desired change. Since the media has a lot of influence on members of society, ethics in journalism is important as it is responsible for shaping up people’s opinion about society.

Part I

            In his article ‘What is the role of public service journalism today?” Mathew Powers (2020) pointed out that members of society relied on journalists to inform them on events occurring in the community they live in. people listen to the media and form opinions depending on the information they get from journalists. Throughout history, people have relied on the media to collect information about events that take place in society as well as actions taken by the government. As such, the media is given some form of authority to report on both positive and negative outcomes resulting from activities engaged by individuals and organizations including the government (Powers, 2020). In order to remain reliable and credible, the media is expected to operate as a neutral entity whose main role is to inform the public. The provision ensures that the information shared by journalists is credible and free from bias.

            Since people base their assessment of society on the information from the media, journalists play a crucial role in determining the opinions that people have regarding society. Ethics in journalism is therefore important as it ensures that the information shared is credible and based on facts (Powers, 2020). Journalists must operate on a higher moral ground because their opinions and reporting are often taken as facts that the audience uses to view society. The author further argues that lack of bias ensures that the opinions that people form based on information from the media is a representation of the actual society and not the opinions of few reporters. Since the reporting focuses on things that actually happen in society, journalists have an ethical obligation to only report on what happened and leave interpretation to the audience (Powers, 2020). The goal is to inform the public and provide enough data to allow them to form opinions on their own. Doing so ensures that journalists stick to only what happens without relying on propaganda and personal opinions so as to help the audience draw their own conclusions.

Part II

            An argument can be made that the opinions that people have are as a result of their interaction with society and personal traits and not because of the information shared by the media. Although journalists are responsible for informing the public about what goes on in society, there are other factors that have the same or more control over the opinions that people have (Powers, 2020). People’s personal experiences in society creates a better idea of what society is like that reporting from the media. The argument is based on the idea that people have personal traits that are influenced by an individual’s experiences and interactions. Although the media is a month the various forms of interactions, its input is not significant enough to comfortably say that journalists are responsible for shaping up people’s opinion about society.

Furthermore, ethics in journalism is somewhat redundant as journalists are only meant to report on facts. As a journalist, reporting on events requires one to stick to actual facts of how things transpire without adding or taking away information. Journalists therefore carry out their responsibilities not because it is ethical but rather because it is described in the terms allowing them to function as journalists (Powers, 2020). As such, ethics play little control over the information that is shared because journalists are already under requirement to only use information that is based on facts. The idea that honesty is a job requirement combined with the knowledge that people rely on personal experiences to base decisions gives a valid argument suggesting that ethics is not necessary in journalism.

Conclusion

Although people have personal opinions, their opinions are as a result of how they interact with their immediate environment. The media is considered as one of the few measures used to ensure that the government and other organizations behave ethically and with the needs of the public in mind. Since the media is the main source of information, journalists should be ethical because the information they provide is often regarded as the truth and a reflection of what is going on in society. Although honesty is part of the job description, sticking to facts does not always result in honest reporting. Ethics is therefore important in journalism because the information that journalists provide greatly influences how people perceive society.

 

 

References

Powers M, (2020) “What is the role of public service journalism today?” WACC, retrieved           from, https://waccglobal.org/what-is-the-role-of-public-service-journalism-today/