It’s protected by the First Amendment. It’s helped take down a president. But, average citizens often do not know what being a reporter entails.
Some interviewed this month in Washington D.C. shared their thoughts and opinions on the topic of ethics in journalism, providing some insight about how everyday citizens see the world of U.S. media.
Journalists must be familiar with the Society of Professional Journalist’s Code of Ethics, a list of principles explaining how to ethically perform the job of a journalist, or their organization’s own code. The preamble states that “Public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy.” The four principles are to seek the truth and report it, to minimize harm, to act independently, and to be accountable.
It is required that journalists abide by these rules in order to produce reliable content for media consumers.
According to consumers, writing and publishing the truth defines ethical journalism.
Jack Gibson, 20, emphasized the importance of “providing accurate information without bias.”
Michelle Nowak, 19, however, thinks bias is permissible because it shows personality in writing. According to her, “People have different truths.”
But should these truths come out in a journalist’s writing?
People had varying opinions on what they thought of the integrity of their own sources of media.
Tony Corbel, 74, a British native, regularly uses the BBC, Britain’s publicly-financed broadcast network. He trusts the network completely and has for most of his life.
Cindy Lee, 56, thinks her stations, CNN and Fox, are “probably as reliable as you can be.”
Others, though, do not solely rely on just one or two news stations.
By having numerous news sources, one avoids the risk of getting information that is biased, people said. Many consumers use multiple sources such as BBC, CNN, The New York Times, and various social media sites. They feel that though no one can entirely avoid bias, using multiple news sources makes their news more accurate.
“Generally they’re writing to appeal to an audience because they’ve got to get viewers on the internet and people to read the papers, so I think most–not every, but most–will cater to a specific audience to some extent,” said Aaron Rowell, 23.
This practice of dramatizing stories to make them more interesting is called “yellow journalism,” and is highly scorned in media today and violates the first tenet of the SPJ Code.
“I think that is not okay,” Lee said. “I think whatever happens, we need to reflect what happens and not dramatize it.”
Journalists are constantly evaluated by each other and the public to follow the Code of Ethics. To not report the whole truth would be devastating, yet it is crucial that journalists honor the privacy and safety of their subjects.
“I guess they’re just trying to do their job,” Corbel said. “But there’s a limit to what you do.”