Ethics in Journalism

      One of the most important duties we have as journalists is to be ethical. Thousands of people rely on the daily news and thus the importance of this true principle. In the book Elements of Journalism, a lot of emphasis is placed on the fact that “journalists have an obligation to exercise their personal conscience.” In other words, we are responsible to have a moral/ethical compass and then voice our opinions based on this compass.

      The activity which we participated in in class is a perfect example. One of the issues was a serial killer who flattens a woman’s car tire and then offer to help her but instead abduct, rape and kill her. The issue with this was that the police had not caught the man and if the style of his attacks was revealed then he may change them and make it harder to catch him. It was interesting to see both sides from various people in the class. On one side you want to alert the public of this man to protect them. However, oppositely you want to catch him as fast and as soon as possible and thus stop the casualties. This was an excellent example of ethical issues which we will be faced with in the future.

As we are ethical in our decisions in the news industry we will only gain the trust and respect of the public as a reliable source of news. A previous editor of CBC news, Tony Burman, said that “Every news organization has only its credibility and reputation to rely on.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalism_ethics_and_standards Thus, the importance of us as future news workers and suppliers to make ethical decisions that will benefit everyone.

      To ensure that employees are making ethical decisions many companies implement codes of ethics. One such is this example from the New York Times Company: http://www.nytco.com/press/ethics.html This particular code, as well as others, outlines the duty the company has to the citizens, such as the the way in which news is collected and protecting their neutrality.

      Despite these type of documents however, it is increasingly important that we have our own code of ethics by which we live our lives. It will be in living these personal codes that we will not only be better employees but we will help to create a better society on both a broad and a personal level. Elder David A. Bednar always told his children three important things to remember as they left home: “1) Remember that you represent the Savior. 2) Remember that you represent your family. 3) Remember that you represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” www.byui.edu/transcripts/graduation/2003_04_26_bednar.htm (accessed October 14, 2004) We as Latter-day Saints have this same duty and obligation as we enter the force. People will not only judge us based on our decisions and actions, they will also judge the church. Thus the importance of each one of us making a decision to live our lives in such a way that is befitting of a member of this wonderful Church and as a believer in Jesus Christ. Let us therefore choose today to live by our personal compass despite what others voices may say.