Ethical Journalism

Last class period we discussed ethical situations in journalism and when it's appropriate for journalists to create stories. We went over various scenarios in which one could question the ethics that were used in the journalism tactics. One example which raises questions on the code of ethics that journalists adhere to took place in 1954 when Dr. Sam Sheppard was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to 12 years in prison. This case raises questions on the ethics of the journalism because the media covered the case so heavily that they created a biased jury which lead to Sheppard's sentence. I feel that journalists need to know when to not take stories too far. I don't think it was right for them to take a side on a murder case, sway the public on the ruling, and ultimately create the ruling for the jury. Journalists are not judges and therefore have no authority to sentence people before they are given a fair trial.
While I do not believe that there is true objectivity in journalism because opinions can leak out even in journalist writing styles, I feel that journalists are ethical if they do their best to remain neutral in their writing and allow their audience to create their own opinion from news stories.
I want to become a broadcast journalist and it will therefore be necessary for me to adhere to a code of ethics as I gather and create packages for the public. I feel that honesty is one of the most important qualities that I will strive for in my future profession. I feel that if I am honest with the public I will gain their trust and respect which will not only keep them more informed on what's occurring in society, but it could also create an increase in the number of views that my station will get. One example of dishonest journalism took place at the Walstreet Journal when one of the writers wrote a completely one-sided series in hopes of obtaining the Pulitzer Prize. I feel that cases like this are extremely unethical, and journalists should never sway facts in order to win awards for their work. Click here for another example of unethical journalism which springs out of "pack journalism" which is when a bunch of reporters cover the same story.

Watchdog Journalism

Last Thursday we discussed the idea of investigative reporting which can be defined as, "uncovering and documenting activities that have been previously unknown to the public." Although many would argue that this type of journalism can be unethical because it can put people and businesses in a bad light, if executed correctly I feel that investigative journalism is what enables journalists to maintain their "watchdog" reputation because they are able to inform society through rigorous journalism tactics.
In my Comms 300 class we learned about the ethics and laws behind undercover reporting (which can be classified as a specific type of investigative journalism). During our lesson on this topic my professor brought up the civil case with Food Lion and ABC News which serves as an example of watchdog journalism, but also leaves room for discussion on the ethics that were put in to practice in this case.
In the early 1990’s producers working for an ABC news television magazine program decided to investigate unsanitary practices at the Food Lion grocery chain. With the the approval of many within ABC, producers decided that the best way to investigate the store’s practices was to have reporters infiltrate the store as employees. Two female news reporters applied for jobs at Food Lion using false names and invented work histories. The plan worked. Both women were hired, one in North Carolina and the other in South Carolina. To document their findings the producers used hidden miniature cameras and microphones. Their story, complete with video recordings aired on Nov 5 1992 on ABC’s Primetime Live. The report documented allegedly unsanitary meat-handling practices at the stores and was sharply critical of Food Lion.
Food Lion denied the accusations and then filed a law suit against ABC. Food Lion waged its legal battle on the newsgathering front, alleging fraud, trespass, unfair trade practices and breach of duty of loyalty. At trial, the jury sided with Food Lion, however ABC appealed. By a vote of 2 to 1 a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court reversed the verdict for food lion on all but the trespass and breach of loyalty claims. in the end, food lion was awarded a total of two dollars.
I feel that watchdog journalism can become a heated debate when issues like this come about. While this case was useful for informing the public about the unsanitary food handling that was taking place, many would argue that the methods used to obtain this information were unethical and therefore it should not be reported. This is just one of many watchdog examples in which questionable journalism tactics were used in order to uncover a story.
In conclusion, I feel that the idea of watchdog journalism is essential to our society. We need people who are willing to dig up information in order to let the public know what's actually going on. In addition, this practice will keep people on guard and hopefully encourage them to behave more ethically.

Independence and Journalism

Last week in class we discussed the idea of Independence and journalism. In The Elements of Journalism it states that "Journalists must maintain and independence form those they cover" (118). I believe that this idea is crucial in good journalism because society deserves to hear the truth and if journalists add their own biases to their stories then the truth gets watered down until it is eventually lost (click here for an example of bias in photo journalism). One example that I came across this week which illustrates what happens when journalists are not independent from the news is in the movie, Citizen Kane. In this movie, Charles Foster Kane, a wealthy and powerful businessman, uses his fortune to take over the press and essentially uses the news to manipulate the public in order to benefit himself. Kane’s journalism lacks the basic elements that modern journalism requires in order to be validated by the public. Furthermore, he refutes all forms of the code of ethics that journalists today live by in order to make their work more reliable to the public.
We learned earlier that “Journalism's first loyalty is to citizens.” (Elements 52). Therefore, reporters need to claim neutrality when reporting in order to keep their biases out of the news so that the public can make up their own minds on what to believe. Kane used journalism to advance his reputation and standing in society. He was manipulative and he used his power to trick the public into thinking whatever he wanted. Therefore, he serves as an example of the negative role that journalists can play in society and the power and influence they have in helping the public to formulate opinions and ideas (even if those opinions are false and corrupt).
In addition to Citizen Kane, the idea of remaining independent is crucial to me because I want to go into the broadcast journalism field. In order to produce effective stories, I need to remain neutral and keep my opinion out of the news. The public are smart enough to realize when the media is trying to sway their opinion, if I were to include one sided opinions from a story in order to convey my viewpoint people would eventually figure me out and lose trust in me.
I thoroughly enjoyed the guest speaker because I felt that he was able to give an honest insider's perspective on these topics. Furthermore, I thought it was interesting when he discussed the fact that biases will leak out of the news no matter what and this is because you will always have a boss (who might not care about remaining independent from the news) who will tell you what stories you can cover.
In addition, after researching this topic further it appears that bias in the news occurs more than people realize (especially on controversial topics like global warming).

verification of journalism and the function of the press in democracy

Earlier this week we discussed the importance of journalists verifying their sources as well as the role that the press plays in democracy. I feel that as Americans we should feel privileged to live in a country that promotes freedom of speech and press, and in order to respect that freedom we should try to put forth our best and most honorable work.
One example for why people should verify their sources is Paul Dunn. A member of the quorum of the 70 for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dunn was widely known for his amazing stories. Dunn spoke on his days playing major league baseball for the St. Louis Cardnals, as well as wild WWII stories in which he had narowly escaped death. It wasn't until 1990 that people (including the press) began to question the validity of Dunn's stories. After conducting research a number of investigators accussed Dunn of lying and fabricating most of his stories. Dunn later admited to this but defended his argument by stating that his stories were meant to be Christ-like parables which often represented more meaningful messages.
Although unfortunate, this event illustrates the importance of verifying sources. Dunn was a highly regarded religious figure and his stories helped shape the testimonies of a vast amount of members during that time. The news that Dunn had been lying to the members was earth-shattering to many and caused many of them to question the integrity of the entire church. Furthermore, this scandal was a huge embarassment to the church, who was Dunn's biggest affiliation.
If there is one thing that we can learn from this story it is that if you want to maintain the trust of your audience as well as a good reputation, then it is essential to verify sources. In addition, I feel that because of the freedoms that we as Americans enjoy we should aim to provide the public with the best and most truthful stories possible. Of all people, Dunn should have been verifying his sources because he not only enjoys the freedom of speech, press, but also of religion. And I feel that when these three freedoms are intertwined the truth should always be the number one concern.

Journalism as a Profession

Last November I did a feature story on the opening of the In-N-Out branch in Orem UT. It was one of my first broadcasting stories so I was extremely nervous yet excited to be finally involved in the "thick" of what I love. I arrived on scene, mini camera in hand, and shot hours of long lines, busy workers, and hungry customers (I'll admit, I was a little bit too thorough and it wasn't fun filtering through all of the video when it came time to edit). When it came time for my interview with the manager of the branch, he answered all of my questions sincerely and was extremely pleasant to work with. At the end of the interview he told me to wait around and he would "hook me up with a free meal of whatever I wanted." At first I was really excited to experience my first In-N-Out burger. As a Pennsylvania native this Western chain is Greek to me, and I was often treated like an outcast after telling people that I had never been to an In-N-Out before. So, I waited around for a little bit drooling at the thought of this coveted burger when all of a sudden my Code of Ethics finally kicked in: "Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity." (I guess you could say it was like one of those good angel, bad angel moments...)


In class we talked about journalists' roles as gatekeepers to society. Journalists have the responsibility of "deciding what is news and how it should be presented," therefore it is essential that they adhere to a code of ethics in order to keep facts straight and their personal opinion away from their stories (some disagree with the idea of journalists keeping their opinion out of the news).In addition, journalists today help to shape the worldview of people as they read the news because they are able to form opinions and take sides based on the facts and information that they read. While a free burger may seem (a probably would have been) harmless, it could been seen as a bribe or persuasion (unfortunately this still occurs in journalism throughout the world) for me to produce a better story on the restaurant. While I know this case is completely extreme, and my story would have favored In-N-Out regardless of the free food, I'm not a food critic, and I wasn't sent to taste the food. I was sent to report on the restaurant in order to inform people about the opening. So I guess it's no surprise that I took the burger... haha just kidding. I only awkwardly waited around for a little before triumphantly walking away. Moral of the story: I'm glad I stuck to the code of ethics, and I hope that I always do in my future journalistic endeavors.

Loyalty and the Underpinnings of Journalism

We learned earlier this week that journalists' first obligation is to citizens. As gatekeepers journalists have a great responsibility to provide a service to the public. Although it is their profession, if journalists want to be successful as well as true and meaningful stories to surface, then they should not view the public as customers. If viewed as customers, the public can become a large scale market in search of the best "bottled water". This could in turn cause journalists to thwart the truth, and or use invalid sources in their stories. Good journalists "covenant with the public"- or essentially make promises that their stories are valid and true by the reputations they maintain.
Aside from covenanting with the public, in order to maintain a positive relationship with society, journalists must develop 5 characteristics which include, committing to the citizens first, hiring business managers who also put citizens first, setting and communicating clear standards, having the final say over news, and communicating clear standards to the public. If executed correctly, good and ethical news can be served to society.
As an active reader of newspapers(A thirst for news really is innate within my persona), I am extremely grateful for the task that journalists take on in order to provide society with the truth . We learned in class that journalism has not always been this way and has actually evolved with time to be what it is today. It is interesting to note that in 1798 the Sedition Act limited the role of the press within society, and while this law was cleared up thanks to the 1st Amendment, the 1970's showed similar conflicts between the press and government with the Pentagon Papers as well as the Watergate scandal. Furthermore, with the fierce competition that arose from the creation of the penny press it is obvious that journalism has come a long way to be able to provide us with reliable sources and truths and that is because it puts its citizens first.