Journalistic/Media Ethics
By: Caitlyn Boucher -- First Year Writing Awards -- Research Paper
Imagine being 25 years old and one of the best known journalists in the world. Having it all: writing for The New Republic, Harper’s, and Rolling Stone. Imagine ruining your career in your 20’s, like Stephen Glass did. The scandal nearly broke the in 1998 (Garcia & Mooney) when it was discovered that all the stories he was writing were fabricated. Glass’s fraud went undiscovered because of the great lengths he took to also fabricate notebooks full of fake interviews. Coincidentally, Glass was head of The New Republic’s fact checking department (Rosin ).
The Stephen Glass controversy happened before all of the technology that we now have, and represents one of many ethical issues that arise in the journalism/media profession. Now, anyone can call themselves a journalist by having a blog and a computer. Just recently, there has been controversy surrounding Facebook and their responsibility to clean up ‘fake news’: the Internet has no clear distinction between “professional news and amateur rumor-mongering” (Lee). Many people would assume that since journalism and free speech are protected by the first amendment, the press should have unlimited freedom. But what happens when stories are made up and shared? Or when the “celebrity press” step over the line of privacy, or when political bias gets in the way of covering a general election?
The Rules
to the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), there are four principles that journalists and media should follow:
Seek truth and report it, some things this principle includes are: not plagiarizing, avoiding controversial methods of seeking information, hold those with power accountable, and not purposely distorting facts
Minimizing harm: making sure to treat sources and all people interacted with as human beings, with respect
Act Independently: The most important thing to remember is that the obligation of journalists is to serve the public. Avoid conflicts of interests, refuse bribes, do not blur the lines between news and advertising.
Be Accountable and Transparent: Take responsibility for your work and be ready at all times to explain your decisions and reasoning to the public.
Celebrity Journalism
It’s fair to say that everyone, no matter social status, race, gender, sex, or anything else, deserves a right to privacy as human beings. One of the more notable group of celebrities who have virtually no privacy is the Kardashian family, who have been under the public eye for years. Just last month, Kendall Jenner, the second youngest of the Kardashian siblings, testified in court for a case of being stalked (Zimmerman). The person who stalked her was not a member of the press, but rather shows what these people have to deal with and worry about every day. Some may say the Kardashians ask for it; while that may be true, we must remember that they are still people with rights, something celebrity journalists tend to forget by dehumanizing them. Some celebrities can benefit from the paparazzi and use them to their advantage ; like Britney Spears who was rumored to call the paparazzi during “The Great Britney Spears Hunt of 2007” (Marcus). Not all celebrities can be so fortunate; Jennifer Lawrence (best known for her role in The Hunger Games), said in an interview: “I knew the paparazzi were going to be a reality in my life, but I didn’t know that I would feel anxiety every time I open my front door, or that being chased by 10 men you don’t know, or being surrounded, feels invasive and makes me feel scared and gets my adrenaline going every day” (Zupkus).
Celebrity journalism is a genre that walks a tight rope between public interest and putting someone’s freedom at risk . But is it even journalism? A poor substitute for real news? In panel discussions at The Poynter Institute , a nonprofit journalism school in Florida. the point was debated: “Is the coverage of celebrities at the expense of other news?” (Merina) With more outlets chasing celebrity news, there is less coverage of controversial issues; some observers even use the word blackouts. For example, there has been little to no mainstream media coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, what is happening in Aleppo, Syria; or the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Our constitution may ensure a free press, but because of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, bought and paid for by corporate media lobbies (Corcoran), the media is now controlled by a handful of corporations. This act, passed by President Bill Clinton, made little to no restrictions on how many TV and radio stations a single company could own (Campbell, Martin & Fabos, 473). Ultimately, what is at stake here is that when our media is controlled by only a few people, the issue that arises is that we aren’t hearing many opinions; but most news sources that we consider reliable, are the ones owned by said corporations and when they aren’t, and do cover controversial subjects, they’re considered unreliable sources.
Furthermore, political journalism is another ethical issue.
Political Journalism
Although it’s nearly impossible to not hold one’s own political view, a political journalist should not let that cloud or narrow their coverage of the political arena. This is especially thorny because only 7 percent of journalists identify as Republican, while journalists who identify as independent are on the rise (Larson). Most people want to consume media that they identify with, which is becoming increasingly more sparse for “right wing” consumers of media.
It’s important for media to recognize how much influence they really have over elections; every piece of information we receive about elections comes through some type of media. For example, if WikiLeaks did not exist/investigate presidential candidates, there could have been an entirely different outcome of this year’s election. An easy answer would be to not report with bias because it’s unethical. But some journalists actually believe that bias is okay. David Broder, a columnist for The Washington Post, writes, “If you want to be a stickler for journalistic ethics, I shouldn’t even be writing about the Great Lakes, because I have a huge bias — especially when it comes to Lake Michigan” (Broder).
In sum, just because journalism is protected by the first amendment, this does not mean the profession is perfectly ethical. There are no clear answers for solving the issues journalism faces, as often times writers must quickly make a decision in their own best interest and consequently, it’s not always the most ethical one. Unfortunately, all we can do is use a critical lens when consuming media; to be aware of what we are consuming, and why certain systems are placed into society. What remains true is that we will always need media and news; we’ll always need access to information. As Philip Graham, a former publisher and co-owner of The Washington Post (Bevilacqua), would say, “Journalism is the first draft of history” (Liu).
Works Cited
Bevilacqua, Matt. “Today in D.C. History: Post Publisher Commits Suicide.” Washington City Paper, Washington City Paper, 3 Aug. 2011, www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/city-desk/blog/13063878/today-in-d-c-history-post-publisher-commits-suicide.
Broder, David S. “Great Goals for the Great Lakes.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 25 Feb. 2010, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/24/AR2010022403480.html
Campbell, Richard et al. Media Essentials: a Brief Introduction. Boston, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2016.
Corcoran, Michael. “Twenty Years of Media Consolidation Has Not Been Good For Our Democracy - BillMoyers.com.” Moyers &Amp; Company, Public Square Media, Inc. , 30 Mar. 2016, billmoyers.com/story/twenty-years-of-media-consolidation-has-not-been-good-for-our-democracy/.
Garcia, Ahiza, and Mark Mooney. “Notorious Journalist Stephen Glass Repays Magazine for 1998 Story.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 16 Oct. 2015, money.cnn.com/2015/10/16/media/stephen-glass-money-harpers-magazine/.
Larson, Leslie. “Few Journalists Are in GOP as Party Affiliations Decline: Study.” NY Daily News, NY Daily News, 6 May 2014, www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/journalists-gop-party-affiliations-decline-study-article-1.1781826.
Liu, Louise. “Lost in the Newseum.” BU Study Abroad: Washington, Boston University, 24 Feb. 2016, www.bu.edu/washington/2016/02/24/louise-liu/#more-14746
Lee, Timothy B. “Facebook's Fake News Problem, Explained.” Vox, Vox Media, Inc., 16 Nov. 2016, www.vox.com/new-money/2016/11/16/13637310/facebook-fake-news-explained.
Marcus, Stephanie. “Celebrities Call The Paparazzi On Themselves Sometimes, Obviously.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18 Apr. 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/18/celebrities-call-paparazzi_n_5175348.html.
Merina, Victor. “Celebrities in Journalism: The Ethics of News Coverage.” Poynter, The Poynter Institute , 2 Mar. 2011, www.poynter.org/2004/celebrities-in-journalism-the-ethics-of-news-coverage/20426/.
Professional Journalists, Society of. “SPJ Code of Ethics | Society of Professional Journalists | Improving and Protecting Journalism since 1909.” SPJ Code of Ethics | Society of Professional Journalists , Society of Professional Journalists, 6 Sept. 2014, www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp.
Rosin, Hanna. “Hello, My Name Is Stephen Glass, and I’m Sorry.” New Republic, The New Republic, 10 Nov. 2014, newrepublic.com/article/120145/stephen-glass-new-republic-scandal-still-haunts-his-law-career.
Zupkus, Lauren. “Jennifer Lawrence On The Paparazzi: 'I Feel Anxiety Every Time I Open My Front Door'.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Nov. 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/16/jennifer-lawrence-paparazzi_n_6167452.html.
Zimmerman, Amy. “Kendall Jenner Testifies Against Alleged Stalker: ‘I’ve Never Been So Scared in My Life.’” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast Company, 14 Oct. 2016, www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/14/kendall-jenner-testifies-against-alleged-stalker-i-ve-never-been-so-scared-in-my-life.html.