QUEZON City, Philippines (September 7) – Good old Wikipedia says that media ethics deals with the specific ethical rules and subdivision of applied ethics and standards of media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the arts, print media and the internet.
According to“Mass Communication Living in a Media World by Ralph e. Hanson” reporters face a range of ethical issues on a regular basis. Known author Ralph E. Hanson, in his book “Mass Communication Living in a Media World” enumerated the various ethical issues encountered by reporters and journalists on a regular basis:
Truthfulness means that each and every journalist should be committed to the telling of the whole truth. Said commitment is not only for the journalist to personally uphold but also for the organization where he or she belongs.
Journalists regularly encounter situations where there is a conflict of interest, where the corporate interests of the owners of the news organization clashes with the journalist’s report. It now falls on the said journalist if he or she will pursue said report or surrender to the realities of economics e.g. employment, salary, etc.
Let’s face it, news is a ratings game, so many reporters usually give in and put effort into attracting and pleasing an audience by giving them what they want or by exaggerating the more entertaining aspects of his or her report.
Lastly, journalists must also ensure the authenticity or genuineness of the photographs that accompany their news report. Remember that photographs can easily be altered especially using modern-day digital editing tools. Also, journalists should decide if the photographs that they would use are appropriate or not.
Another difficulty encountered by media practitioners is reporting bias which was defined as the “selective revealing or suppression of information” by subjects. It can also mean prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. Reporting bias is a major and very problematic issue in media ethics.
To enforce media ethics, journalists and their employers can apply or adopt standards and measures like:
Creating a media ombudsman, which would ensure that every journalists and every news organization adhere strictly to media ethics.
Adopting an industry-wide code of media ethics.
Requiring all journalists and other media practitioners as well as leaders and owners of media organization to swear to abide by said code of media ethics.
(Written by Cleeve Lemuel Carpio, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Lovely Ann Cruz)
