ETHICS AND MORALS OF JOURNALISM

Ethics and Morals of Journalism

   Why do we need journalist in the first place (let alone ethical ones)? This is because democracy depends on the free flow of accurate and trustworthy information. Under democratic theory, an informed citizenry is necessary for a strong society. “The primary purpose of journalism” is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing. Because information is power, and people tend to think that shared power is safer and more beneficial to society than concentrated power. Journalists are in the business of redistributing power to the people, a role that makes them (journalist) powerful.

Ethics is on the other hand a commitment to not abusing your power, but using freedom responsibly. There is always a tension between freedom and responsibility. These two ideals (freedom and responsibility) both have long heritage in philosophical thought stretching back to the ancient days and is continuing as recurring theme throughout history.

    If you read many of the journalism ethics books you get to realize that they are devoted to exploring the

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dynamics between them as well as their connections and society. These dynamics can be explained in two broader perspectives –libertarian perspective which is basically a version of enlightenment–era liberalism, which puts relatively greater emphasis on the rational individual and on personal freedom or liberty and the ‘Communitarian’ perspective, which places relatively greater emphasis on social connections or community as well as on the responsibilities we have to one another. The mentioned two perspectives were most clearly articulated by the Hutchins Commission on Freedom of Press which stressed the media's "social responsibility” and as a matter of fact, the more civic journalism movement has built on these ideas.

      Another way to look at this is to consider rights and responsibilities.  Laws give us rights for instance, "Bill of Rights" which in is the chapter four of our constitution while ethics gives us responsibilities. Ethics are inherently social. Why? They involve our actions in relation to others. Why then do we need ethical journalist? We need ethical journalist because we recognize the importance of a free press and of the need for it to be responsible as well. The definition of an ethical journalist is, "An impartial communicator of important news and views to the public and from the impartial perspective of the public; using responsible and accurate methods of news-gathering, for the sake of a self-governing citizenship."An ethical journalist acts as a watchdog and informs the public of events happening both in private and public so as to allow self-government .By so doing the ethical journalist provides a forum for expression and critical discussion of issues, viewpoints as well as values of the society they serve
     When a journalist fails to be ethics accommodating then two major forms of restraints on powerful media should come to play and play its core role of bringing such a practitioner on the track. The restraints are; external restraints which are basically laws and rules imposed from outside, primarily by the government and the internal restraints, which are basically ethics imposed from within, primarily by individual journalist and by the profession itself. Journalism ethics is a species of applied professional ethics. It is the application and evaluation of the principles and norms that guide journalism practice, with special attention to the most important problems in the field. Journalistic ethics contains both applied analysis and theory. In the analysis of specific cases, journalism ethics may appeal to theoretical matters, such as the nature of ethical assertion. 

 Ultimately, the basis for journalism ethics transcends journalism .Its principles are justified by reference to broader social and political principles. Ethical questions are not reducible to questions of etiquette, prudence, financial gain or law. Similarly, questions about journalism ethics are not reducible to questions about what is commonly done or what is in the journalist’s self-interest? or financial gain or law. Nor are ethical values reducible to “craft” values, such as the aesthetic quality of an image, or how well a story is written.
     A question about journalism conduct is ethical only if it evaluates the conduct in light of the fundamental ethical principles of journalism. These are the principles that express journalism’s most important social functions. Journalism ethics depends on one’s conception of the public functions of journalism as a professional practice, and the principles and standards that promote those aims. As such, journalist should realize that they have special duties to people they impact.

     So like any other person journalists have general ethical duties to the citizens and must at all cost conduct themselves in accordance with general ethical principles such as being truthful, keeping promises, avoiding harm and serving the public good. Secondly, journalist have social role to use their skills to fulfill a social roles and to meet public expectations. The role is sometimes understood as arising from a social contract between journalism and society. In many Western countries, journalists are granted a constitutionally protected freedom to promote social goods, such as a diversity of views and a comprehensive analysis of events. Lastly journalists have the role of impacting and influencing so even if journalism lacked a social role, journalists would incur ethical responsibilities due to their impact on the individuals and groups they report on, and on the society they serve.