Code of Ethics

The definition of ethics is simple, it is about whether something is right or wrong. In class the group that presented said "ethics is a branch of philosophy that covers a whole family of things that have a real importance in everyday life." I really like this statement because it says ethics applies to life daily, which is absolutely true. The decision of whether to steal something or to even cut off someone on the road is all about your ethical views. Also, making moral choices is very opinionated. Someone who grew up in a stable home may think stealing food is unethical while someone who is homeless and struggling to stay alive may think it is necessary. What is the right thing to do? What is good and what is bad?

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95hRCbX4Dn0)

In journalism, ethics is so important. Many find it unethical to harass and bother families of people whose child was a victim in a mass murder or families of convicted felons while journalists thrive off of these interactions. Is it okay to bother somebody who has just suffered a trauma to get a story? That is the question all journalists ask throughout their careers. Also, is it ethical to insert your own thoughts and feelings in a story? As a journalists it is important to never show bias for a specific side because then your story and words become slanted and not credible. I watched this video in class and I could not pass up the opportunity to show how incredibly wrong it is to be biased and rude to people who may not agree with your views. Susan Roesgen became the   poster child for unethical reporting ever since this report aired. "Ethics produces some of the most passionate arguments that take place in Congress, church, family and school."It can pinpoint disagreements but it doesn't always provide people with the answers or help they want. Society of Professional Journalists has a site that provides their code of ethics. ( http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp) The main points I got from it was to just seek the truth and report it. If every journalists did that maybe the audience would trust them more?

Daniel Ellsberg: The "Heroic" Most Dangerous Man in America

Class this past week was all about the Pentagon Papers and the person who leaked them. For those of you who are not familiar with them, they are papers that list political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. Now if that is all you knew about them you would say why are they so important? But the details on these papers exposed a couple presidents' in their lies and intentions upsetting many people. The papers were first publicized on the front page of the New York Times. It was not until June 2011 the papers were publicly released again. (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/us/08pentagon.html?pagewanted=all)

  Daniel Ellsberg, a former government official, was the man who leaked the papers. (http://www.ellsberg.net/bio) He faced charges under the espionage act of 1917, which helped bring his sentence to 155 years in prison. The charges eventually ended up being dropped when irregularities appeared in the governments case. Ellsberg was being called "the most dangerous man in America" and even had a documentary made about him called that. Was what Ellsberg did so bad? Wouldn't you want to know if the leaders of your country were lying to you, especially about issues dealing with war? I think the government should not blatantly lie to the people, cover it up and hide it away, then get mad when somebody finds out and exposes them for their crime. There are certain things that are probably better for the public to not know about for security and safety reasons. But when it comes to things that just affect the President's likelihood of being reelected for another term, it should not hidden from the people! 

The Evolution of Journalism

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbp8DN0Jd7Q)

Did you know that some journalists have evolved into business people? This not only shifts the focus towards money, it also affects the trust and loyalty between citizens and journalists.

Here is an article of some journalists who turned into businessmen. http://www.businessinsider.com/journalists-turned-businessmen

Journalists have also become better educated, which gives them the ability to turn journalism into a business. Now in my opinion, I think that is really bad. We all know funding for print media is being redirected for the future since advertising is changing. Journalism needs to find a way to financially stay afloat, but when it turns into more of a business proposition instead of news reporting, it defeats the purpose of journalism altogether. We need to find a solution to financing journalism in a way where it doesn't affect the news. Journalists need to report without an agenda, and I know I have mentioned that before, but it allows the reporters to report the truth without having to please their employers.

Journalists also need to have independence. They need to be free from all politics, demands, and subsidies to  reveal the truth to the citizens. Journalists work and report for the people and no one else. It is important for journalists to be the watchdog of the government and to continue doing that. But this still does not solve journalism's financial problem! How are we going to figure out how to get the money for journalism?

Check out this article, not even the guys who are paid to figure out who needs to pay for journalism have a solution for this problem. http://gawker.com/5989885/somebody-should-figure-out-how-to-pay-for-journalism-says-guy-whose-job-it-is-to-do-that

Responsibilities of Journalists

Many would think all a journalists needs to do is find out the facts and write them in a story, but there is so much more to it. Journalism has adapted and changed to the new wonders of the world as big as world wars and as common as social media. A fact the group presentation had last week was journalists help define a community in values, goals, villains, and heroes. What the news reports is what the people believe (maybe not so much now) and should rely on for their information. If the news accuses someone as a murderer, the community believes it. Journalism defines everything newsworthy.


Journalism should also never be reported with an agenda. I was able to watch a film directed by George Clooney called "Good Night, and Good Luck" which focuses a lot on the responsibilities of the media. The truth is what should always be reported and statements should be made, when necessary, to back up any claim made in reporting. It is important for journalists to relate to their readers because the public wants to listen to someone they can trust. Edward R. Murrow was that person during the communism scare after World War II. He adapted to the hard times and changed broadcast journalism with his show. (Here is a link to his biography http://www.biography.com/people/edward-r-murrow-9419104.) He crossed the line of reporting to his audience and gave his opinion compromising his job, but he did if for the greater good of the people. He reported the truth and protected his name like any other person would do, except a journalist isn't like any other person. They have a responsibility to stay neutral and unbiased, but lets be honest, no one is un-biased.


This video is a speech Murrow gave emphasizing how reporting the news can so easily be changed into a form of entertainment if we are not careful. Like I said before, there should be no agenda in journalism.

                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCaBCdJWOyM

Successful Reporting 101

In class this past week we had a guest speaker named Gareth Harding. He's a freelance journalists that believes "the best way of doing communications, is to approach it journalistically." One of the things that stuck with me, was his emphasis on creating and keeping contacts. Contacts will help you get the job, or obtain a story, or get information on news that you would not normally get. Contacts help you succeed in the media business and he said without contacts you will have a hard time getting work as a freelance reporter.
(http://garethharding.com/about-me/)

He also said, "you've got to fail in order to succeed." It was his life experiences that affected his life the most, not his assignments. You have to go out and find stories and gain that experience for you to be able to succeed. He made the point that when you fail, and you will fail, you have to keep going. Journalists are people with views and opinions just like anybody else, except their voice is heard by a bigger audience. It is important to take the opinions and views of others about your writing and listen, because they will not always be the same ideas as yours.

It is also important to be "media literate, so that you know the market." (http://www.cmp.ucr.edu/education/programs/digitalstudio/studio_programs/vidkids/medialit.html)  It is the reporters job to make sure that they are up to date on all technology and news circulating through the world. One must know what the world is interested at the time to sell a story or captivate the audience. One must also take risks. Big risks come with great rewards and is important for all future reporters to realize.