Journalists have a vital role in society. They are responsible for sharing important news and other information about their community, within and outside their community. How this information is shared is just as important as the information being shared. Journalist have to know how to apply ethics to every situation.
There is a pressure for journalists to provide stories that are accurate, objective, intriguing, and inclusive. When these principles are applied, ethical components can get in the way of fulfilling some or all of these journalistic duties. Many topics require ethical decisions to be made about how to present the information with everyone’s best interest in mind.
Even though it is suggested that journalists should write objectively, that does not mean they should just state the facts. It means they should tell the facts separate from their or other people’s opinions about the facts. This in itself can get tricky, because objectivity is directly related to what the facts are and if a journalist can only get one side of a story, they can only include one side of the story.
Collecting information also influences what the truth of a story is. For a journalist, it is their job to decide what is the truth, which can only be determined through what facts they collect. Whether or not the facts journalists are able to collect are true, isn’t always easy to decipher.
Without thinking about an issue and how to present it in the most ethical way possible, it leaves room for apathy, disrespect, and avoidable consequences like embarrassment, anger, or unwanted attention.
There are a couple of ethical models that journalists can look toward when they aren’t sure how to move forward with a story ethically.
Communitarianism is one of these models. This model suggests that when an ethical issue is considered political or social, community interests have more importance than individual ones, but individual interests should still be considered to some extent. News that follows this model focuses more on the issue as a whole rather than all the details of one case. These articles also include more statistics and general rather than personal information.
Another model, created by the philosopher Bok, offers principles that anyone can apply to how they react and respond to a situation. Bok splits her model into three parts: consult your own conscience, consult other people, and try to predict every outcome in relation to every potential decision. This way, a journalist can consider his or her stories impact on everyone directly or indirectly involved.
