Communication Ethics

What is the role of the journalist?

• Discuss

The Preamble to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states:

...public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.

What ethics are involved in this role?

Law tells us how we should act;

Ethics tell us how we could act

What should be some ethical considerations of the journalist?

• Ms. Houseman Stories:• Reporting on a co-worker• Is it OK to stage audio for a piece• Is it OK to accept lunch from a story subject

• Other considerations:• Is it OK to lie to get the truth?• Can misleading readers ever be justified?

Keys to Ethics Process

• Consequence: What will be the result?

• Obligation/Duty: What do we owe our audience?

• Values: what do we consider virtuous?– Trust, fairness, credibility, consistency (see next slide)

• Justification: what is my reasoning for doing this?

Keys to Ethics Process

• Ethical decision making entails competition among values such as– truth telling and compassion– courage and sensitivity – serving the public and protecting individual

rights

Keys to Ethics Process

• In return for our careful ethical decision-making, we, the producers of messages, receive– Public trust– Confidence– Credibility

Three Ethical Philosophies to Consider

• Aristotle’s Golden Mean

• Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative

• John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism

Aristotle’s Golden Mean

• A balance between two extremes (vices)

– For example, courage is the middle ground between two vices: cowardess and recklessness

• Strive for what is virtuous

Kant’s Categorical Imperative

• One must ask the question: “If every individual in society acted in this regard, what would the consequences be?”

• Similar in some ways to the Golden Rule: treat others

as you would be treated.– Self-governing reason

John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism

• “Greatest happiness principle”– Act so as to produce the greatest happiness for the

greatest number of people – within reason– Higher forms of happiness trump lower forms of mere

contentment

• Utility = human progression– Make choices to achieve a higher

mode of existence

Ethical Dilemmas• Case #1 Detachment or involvement?

You are a reporter for a large urban daily. The paper plans a major series on poverty. Your editor assigns you to do an in-depth piece on the effects of poverty on children, with special emphasis on what happens when drug addiction becomes part of the story.

You have identified several families willing to be subjects for the story. Three families agree to be photographed — and identified — and you spend four months with them, visiting their homes every day and observing what goes on. You tell them your job is to be an observer — a “fly on the wall” — so you can gather information for this important series.

In one home, you watch as a mother allows her three-year-old daughter to go hungry for 24 hours. You see this same child living in a filthy room, stepping on broken glass and sleeping on a urine-soaked mattress. You know the mother is HIV-positive and you watch as she brushes her daughter’s teeth with the same toothbrush she uses. You see the mother hit the child with full force. You see the little girl about to bite on an electrical cord. Her plight haunts you.

What do you do?

1. Report the mother to the authorities so the girl will be removed and placed in a foster home. The write the story.

2. Write the story first, detailing your observations. After the story comes out, alert the authorities to the mother’s address.

3. Write the story, but don’t identify the mother or child to police or social services.

Ethical Dilemmas• Case #1: The real story

In the summer of 1997, the Los Angeles Times sends reporter Sonia Nazario and photographer Clarence Williams to chronicle the life of children living in poverty with drug-addicted parents. Nazario and Williams spend many hours at the homes of families and watch as addicted parents neglect their children. From the beginning, the journalists describe their jobs as observers — merely “flies on the wall." They explain that they are not baby sitters and that they will not give the families any money.

After the story is published, hundreds of readers call to complain that the reporters did nothing to help the suffering children. Many feel the reporters immediately should have reported what they saw to authorities. The parents, whose names are used in the story, are later arrested, and the children go to foster homes. The powerful series has a huge impact on readers, who call police to report other child-abuse cases in their communities.

Ethical Dilemmas• Case #2: To what lengths should you go to get a story?

You are a correspondent for a major television network. Your producers have done a great deal of research about a national grocery chain; they allege that some of its grocery stores are asking employees to participate in unsanitary food-handling practices.

This is an important story. Consumers may get sick if they eat tainted food, you argue, and they have a right to know that a food store is not handling its food in a safe manner. You want to make sure this story airs on national television. You believe that to get good footage you have to go into the store with cameras and film the store’s workers actually engaging in unsafe practices. You need proof.

What do you do?

1. Call the story manager and request an on-site interview with cameras. Explain that you have some info that consumers will want to know about. Tell him that you want to give him the chance to show the store’s side of the story.

2. Just appear at the store one day without advance notice to the manager. That way you won’t tip off the store staff.

3. Pretend to be looking for a job in the store; complete an employment application and get hired. Then, while you’re at work, use hidden cameras to document the unsafe practices..

Ethical Dilemmas• Case #2: The real story

In 1992 ABC News used “undercover” workers to expose unsafe food-handling practices by the Food Lion supermarket chain. The supermarket accused ABC News of civil fraud, trespass and breach of loyalty.Though the video captures unsanitary food-handling practices and the accusations against the supermarket appear to be true, a jury finds ABC News guilty as charged and awards more than $5.5 million in punitive damages to the supermarket company. Findings:

1. ABC’s employees committed fraud because they lied on their employment applications

2. ABC News employees trespassed on Food Lion’s property

ABC News appeals.

In October 1999, a federal appeals court threw out all but $2 of the damage award the jury had ordered ABC News to pay. In expressing its opinion, the court wrote that Food Lion’s arguments against the news organization were attempts at “an end-run” around the First Amendment. While acknowledging that ABC News used deceptive tactics, the judge notes that ABC’s aim was to help, not to harm, the public.

Citizen Journalism

With the advent of “citizen journalism” what obligation does the average citizen sharing information publicly have to uphold the ethics of journalism?

Ethical Dilemma

• Refer to the previously mentioned keys and philosophies to provide a well-thought out decision for the following dilemma:– Three of your classmates have created an

offensive website that attacks students and teachers. The principal wants to know who did it and you are the only one who knows. Should you lie to the principal or betray your classmates?

Communication Ethics

The consequences of not considering ethics

• Student Suicide

Examples

• News of the World