The responsibility of journalism in society is to provide precise and authentic information to the general public. Journalists are responsible for vindicating ethical standards during news reporting by providing objective and unbiased broadcasting. Although, sometimes journalists fail to conform to these standards, leading to unethical broadcasting. This essay provides a contrast between ethically responsible and irresponsible news broadcasting by addressing journalism’s ethical responsibility to society, when deception is permissible in journalism, what ethical obligations news reporters have to their sources, and under what circumstances journalists ethically obligated to maintain privacy.
Ethical Responsibility to Society
It is the responsibility of the journalism sector to give accurate and unbiased news to society. A code of ethics that entails principles like seeking and reporting the truth, reducing harm and acting independently has been established by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (Christians, 2019). These codes of ethics guide journalists to present every side of the story impartially and fairly. These codes also remind journalists to be mindful of the effects of their reporting on individuals and communities and try to reduce harm. An instance of irresponsible news reporting was evident during the media coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Some news organizations, such as CNN, aired false information, which caused supposition and uncertainty (Lazer, 2013). This false information caused unnecessary harm to dishonestly indicted people and negatively represented them in the media. Conversely, the Boston Globe’s coverage of the same event was ethically responsible. They carefully reported and verified information before producing and dispensing a balanced and authentic account of events.
Deception in Journalism
Deception in journalism is an argumentative issue. Even though journalists must report facts, sometimes there are situations where they must use deception to protect sources or expose important information (Leigh, 2019). Although, deception should be used as a last expedient and should not be revealed to the general public when the story is produced. An instance of ethically responsible deception is during an investigation carried out by the Washington Post concerning the sexual felony against a senate candidate from Alabama, Roy Moore in 2017 (Nodeland, 2021). The reporters employed deceptive strategies such as acting as someone else to access sources to expose evidence of Roy’s claimed crime. Although, the post revealed these strategies in their broadcasting and offered a rigorous and authentic account of the accusations. On the contrary, an instance of irresponsible deception in journalism is in the incident of Janet Cooke who was journalist from the Washington Post who falsely a report about an eight-year old that was addicted to heroin. This coverage won a Pulitzer price however it was discovered later that the story was completely false. Janet’s deception did not only sabotage the integrity of journalism but also harmed people who were falsely accused.
Ethical obligation sources
Every journalist has an ethical responsibility to safeguard their sources and maintain their privacy when necessary. This obligation is vital to urge sources to step forward with thoughtful information that is in the public interest. However, these responsibilities must be balanced with the obligation to report facts and reduce harm. An instance of ethically responsible reporting regarding source confidentiality is in the case of Watergate, where journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward safeguarded their sources the “Deep Throat” all through their investigation (Townley, 2022). Although they did not disclose their sources, they incorporated the provided information to expose the truth about the Nixon’s administration participation in the Watergate scandal. An example of irresponsible reporting in relation to source confidentiality is on the Newsweek Bitcoin story, which published an article stating that they found the real identity of Bitcoin creator, a cryptocurrency. The story was established on inferred evidence and on the account of one source. Later on, the story was discovered leading to criticism towards the magazine for failing to substantiate its claims ahead of publishing the articles. This false story negatively impacted the people who were falsely accused and sabotaged the integrity of the magazine.
Under what conditions are journalists obligated to maintain privacy?
Journalists are ethically urged to safeguard the privacy of their sources, especially in situations where the source’s safety is at stake (Kim, 2014). This encourages the sources to provide sensitive information that conforms to the public’s interest. Also, journalists can protect the privacy of their sources when protecting individuals from harm or harassment. This is done by not disclosing the identities of the victims of sexual assault of people who are at risk of retribution for talking against powerful people. Furthermore, journalists can be ethically obligated to maintain privacy in order to protect sensitive information that can cause harm if released to the public (Kim, 2014). Such information includes matters of national security or information that can be used to harm people.
An example of ethical reporting that maintains privacy in journalism was in 2018 when the New York Times published a report about Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual assault and harassment. These report included the interviews done with several women who fell victims to Harvey and the documents which presented proof of his misconduct (Mack, 2021). The reporters ensured that they protected the identity of their sources even though Weinstein lawyers excreted pressure unto them to reveal them. The reporters were able to uncover their truth about Harvey’s misconducts and disclosed him, causing a national dialogue about sexual assault in workplaces. In contrast, an example of irresponsible reporting can be seen when a video of the former wrestler Hulk Hogan being intimate with his friend’s wife was published by Gawker website in 2016. Since the video was obtained with Hulk Hogan’s permission, he sued Gawker for breach of privacy. It was revealed in the trial that Gawker published the video with no legal news value but to generate revenue (Petre, 2015). The publication of the video lacked legal reporting purpose, instead, it violated Hulk Hogan’s privacy.
References
Christians, C. G. (2019). Media ethics and global justice in the digital age. Cambridge University Press.
Kim, S. Y., & Ki, E. J. (2014). An exploratory study of ethics codes of professional public relations associations: Proposing modified universal codes of ethics in public relations. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 29(4), 238-257. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08900523.2014.946602
Lazer, D., Kennedy, R., & Margolin, D. (2013). Communication in the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombing. https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:330082/fulltext.pdf
Leigh, D., & Leigh, D. (2019). Fake News in Mainstream Journalism. Investigative Journalism: A Survival Guide, 155-173. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16752-3_10
Mack, A. N., & McCann, B. J. (2021). “Harvey Weinstein, monster”: antiblackness and the myth of the monstrous rapist. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 18(2), 103-120. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14791420.2020.1854802
Nodeland, B., & Craig, J. (2021). Perceptions of legal and extralegal punishments for sexual harassment in the ‘MeToo’Era. Deviant Behavior, 42(7), 850-861.
Petre, C. (2015). The traffic factories: Metrics at chartbeat, gawker media, and the New York Times. https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D80293W1
Townley, D. L. (2022). The Watergate Scandal. In The Federal Bureau of Investigation: History, Powers, and Controversies of the FBI (pp. 482-485). Prager/ABC CLIO. https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/publications/the-watergate-scandal
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