Reading for the Week

The readings for this week deal with the most important part of a college journalism education - ethics. The first part of the reading, the sidebar, gives an elementary look at components of ethics - responsibility, freedom of the press, independence, sincerity, truthfulness, accuracy, impartiality, fair play and decency. Among these, I find sincerity and good faith to be the most fundamental to journalism. This is because I see stories on a situational basis. Some cases require different amounts and types of attention. As long as there is good intention, I think that is the most important thing. On the other hand, I find impartiality to be the most difficult because as humans, people form opinions and emotions based on surroundings.
The rest of the chapter discusses principles. The first is the Potter Box, which examines the steps to making a moral decision, which include selecting loyalties and values. This looks good on paper, but it is much more difficult to apply in real life situations. Next, it deals with common ethical problems such as deceit, conflict of interest, (surprisingly) friendship, payola and freebies. Again, I think that it is very difficult to decipher ethical boundaries because it should be situational. It is an individual prerogative to balance friendships and work, etc. On the other hand, journalists MUST in all situations, avoid plagiarism and invasion of privacy.
The first website given in the reading I found to be highly offensive. I do not think that it is fair to call newspaper's online videos superior to TV journalism. The author found one example about Anna Nicole Smith, on one channel, by one journalist. Generalizing to say that TV is salacious but that online represents something more sophisticated is just plain unfair. I support newspapers "giving [online video] it a whirl" but media should work together with this to strive for quality, and not work against one another.
The second website provided useful canons for reporting. I liked what the blogger wrote about developing a style. As painful as it is to admit, she did address the problems that many people have with broadcast news, including the mechanical voice used by reporters.
"People ranging from Mother Teresa (“If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will”) to, reportedly, Stalin (“A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic”)." This excerpt is a fascinating concept, especially to journalists, because it poses a major threat. It means that by showing wide perspective, it may be contributing to societal distancing and numbing. I agree with the author's assertion that journalists should still show the "statistics" and the wide view, but should also include features that will stir the viewers/listeners/reader's emotions and may spur them to act, or at the very least, feel.
The final website talks about the interactive quality of modern journalism - from slideshows to quizzes to live streams. The article is important because with the evolution of the field comes the evolution of individual journalists. It is important for us to be well-rounded and understand the different aspects, because modern jobs will require it. As the reading states, "Combine the best of each world."