There is no doubt that the Media has power and authority in the modern society. People around the globe, at all economic and social levels, consume multiple forms of media daily. For this reason there are expectations from the public that media sources and their affiliates upload certain standards. This includes ethical, honest, and objective reporting. Different forms of media upload these standards to varying levels, creating a range of reporting a available to consumers. Media for entertainment concerns a much different set of responsibilities than news reporting. He need for media ethics rises as news reporting become driven more and more by the free market rather than the truth. As forms of communication evolve, avenues of news reporting increase, and the scope of media. Media ethics assist media workers in determining what is right and choosing the best from several alternatives. Ethics should set guidelines, rules, norms, codes and principles to lead journalists and other media workers to make moral decisions. Media ethics or journalism ethics is a branch of philosophy concerned with actions that are normaly permissible and those that are not. Media ethics assist media workers in determining what is right, and how to choose the best from several alternatives. Media ethics constitutes a normative science of conduct and must therefore be applied voluntarily. Ethics should set guidelines, rules norms, codes and principles that will lead journalists and all other media workers to make moral decisions. They should not be forced to do so because ethics is applied voluntarily. However, there are Ethical dilemmas, with guidelines from various codes of ethics. We will examine some major cases, causes of ethical problems and some approaches that can be used to make ethical decisions.
1. Deception: the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid. A classic case of deception occurred in 1978, when investigative reporters at the Chicago Sun Times set up a bar called T e Mirage and posed as bartenders and waiters. With hidden cameras and tape recorders, they provided evidence that building inspectors, police officers and other city officials were soliciting bribes to allow them to operate the bar. Although the series won several awards, the Pulitzer-Prize board ruled that the reporting methods were unethical and rejected it for the media’s highest award. T e case renewed debate about deception, and today this type of reporting is considered a last resort by many editors. But deception remains controversial in ethical terms. Before using any form of deception, ask yourself these questions: Is the information of such overriding public importance that it can help people avoid harm? / Is there any way you could obtain the information through conventional reporting methods, such as standard interviews or public records?
2. Plagiarism: Even though technology has made it easier to plagiarize because accessibility to thousands of news sources is so easy, stealing words from someone else without attribution is not a new phenomenon. Nor is fabrication, which is making up quotes, adding false description and basically passing fictional material of as news. Using someone else’s idea for a story is usually not considered plagiarism. U.S. copyright laws don’t protect ideas. In the news business, it’s considered good practice to localize a national story idea or use an idea from another newspaper and do original reporting. T e key is “original reporting.” If you use all the same sources and the same anecdotes from another publication or broadcast, it may not constitute plagiarism, but it raises ethical questions.
3. Privacy Issues: Some of the most wrenching ethical dilemmas the media face involve people’s privacy. You may have the legal right to publish certain information, but do you have the ethical right? So ethics can be considered the process of making decisions about the way a person behaves. Some of the thorniest ethical dilemmas facing journalists concern public officials, celebrities, rape accusers and photo subjects.
4. Public officials: the private life should not have been dissected in public especially, the private life of a politician because it could make a chaos in the state. For example, the issue between Bill Clinton’s second term as president when former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
5. Naming Suspect: Consider another case that has given the media an ethical black eye. A pipe bomb had exploded in a park on the site of the Olympic games in Atlanta on July 27, 1996. One person was killed, and 111 others were injured. Initially, a security guard at the site, Richard Jewell, was declared a hero for alerting police to the bombing. Three days later, Jewell became a suspect when law enforcement officials leaked his name to the press. For the next 88 days, Jewell was prof led and followed by the media, and his past, present and future were the subject of news stories. Only one factor was missing: He was never charged in the crime. On Oct. 26, 1996, the FBI apologized and publicly admitted that Jewell was no longer a suspect.
6. Photo subject: Many privacy issues involve photographs. It is related to privacy issues. Should a photographer take a picture of a grieving mother whose son has drowned even if she doesn’t want the picture taken?/ At what point is a photograph an invasion of privacy? Another concern for photo editors is taste: what the reader needs to see versus what the reader wants to see. For example, should newspapers print pictures that depict gore and tragedy even if they would upset readers?. Many television stations did not air the footage of him with blood gushing from his head, and several newspapers did not publish that picture. But other newspapers published three photos, including a gory one of his head as the bullet pierced it. Readers in several locations protested loudly. Such ethical dilemmas arise daily at newspapers and television stations, although rarely involving photos as graphically disturbing as these. But how do editors make those decisions, and how can you decide what is ethical? Whether it is a photo or a story, ethicist Louis Hodges suggests this guideline for privacy issues: Publish private information about public officials or public figures if it affects their public duties. But for victims of crime, publish private information only if they give their permission because these are people with special needs and vulnerability.
However, Journalists use several methods to justify their decisions. In most ethical dilemmas, editors and reporters discuss the issue and the consequences of publication before making the decision. They consider how newsworthy the story is and whether the public really needs this information. The process of ethical reasoning generally involves these three steps: 1. Define the dilemma. Consider all the problems the story or photograph will pose. 2. Examine all your alternatives. You can publish, not publish, wait for a while until you get more information before publishing, display the story or photo prominently or in a lesser position, or choose other options. 3. Justify your decision. Weigh the harms and the benefits of publication, or weigh such factors as relevance and importance of the story to the public.
The Poynter Institute Model Robert M. Steele, T e Poynter Institute’s expert in ethical issues, suggests that journalists ask these questions before making decisions in ethical dilemmas: ■ Why am I concerned about this story, photo or graphic? ■ What is the news? What good would publication do? ■ Is the information complete and accurate, to the best of my knowledge?
■ Am I missing an important point of view? ■ What does my reader need to know? ■ How would I feel if the story or photo were about me or a member of my family? ■ What are the likely consequences of publication? What good or harm could result? ■ What are my alternatives? ■ Will I be able to clearly and honestly explain my decision to anyone who challenges it?
Codes of Ethics In addition to making decisions about what to report and write and how to present stories, journalists must consider whether their behavior is ethical as they perform their professional duties. Many newspapers have devised codes of ethics that govern the behavior of employees. These include policies about accepting gif s or freelance assignments, as well as guidelines about conflicts of interest. Staff members who violate these policies at newspapers can be fired, and many have been. In some cases, reporters have been fired for entering into business relationships with a source or for using for personal gain information they get from sources. Journalism societies, such as the Radio- Television News Directors Association and the Public Relations. There are limitations as parents can not guard their children and compensation can not bring back the lost pride; it’s up to Media to be self- regulators by carving a standard for themselves. Sensitive Journalism can be an answer to the reckless media encroaching the privacy of people. Media has a great responsibility of imparting information to the society. The Media is originated for the effective execution of ‘The Right to information’ which itself is a difficult task and above all a responsible one. The aim should be Timely Delivery of Authentic Information. It should utilize its power for Social Development rather for the self- yield.
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