Ethical Code

Before taking this class, I would have easily defined the word “journalist.” Now, looking back over all the material we covered, I’m not so sure of myself anymore. It’s apparent that the term “journalist” has become an ambiguous title with new media. Is a blogger a journalist? Am I a journalist? In the syllabus for our class, Dr. Cressman writes,

“During this semester we will have the opportunity to together explore, discuss, analyze, and define the practice of journalism.”

I feel confident that I have explored, discussed, and analyzed the practice of journalism—perhaps to the point of incredulity—but have I defined it? Rather than give a one sentence, dictionary-like definition, I can better say what a journalist is and isn’t. A journalist is not only defined by what they do, but how they do it.

Many organizations have published guidelines that they think journalists should abide by. One such publication that I respect is Reuter’s “Handbook of Journalism.” Reuter’s says a journalist is not defined by how they report, but by their ethical values:

“There are many different types of journalism practised in Reuters, across text, television, picture services and online. No one definition of our craft applies to them all. What must unite us is honesty and integrity.”

According to Reuter’s, there are ten absolutes of journalism, some of which include being accurate and never fabricating or plagiarizing. This definition of journalism eliminates a few members of the media: rumor-dependent tabloid reporters, for one. If we determine who is a journalist based on the Reuters definition, then it is clear a journalist is defined by their ethical values. There are four ethical rules nearly all news organizations seem to agree on. They are: eliminating conflicts of interest, reporting with transparency, accuracy, and truth.

A journalist is someone who reports for a living. Because of this, they must remain loyal to their audience and eliminate any conflicts of interest within their personal life. National Public Radio created their own "News Code of Ethics and Practices." They clearly state that anything a journalist does in their personal life has the potential to conflict with their role as a reporter. NPR says,

"All of us are in positions of trust with our audience. To maintain that trust requires that there be no real or perceived overlap between the private interests and opinions of NPR journalists and their professional responsibilities."

By simply attending a political rally or tweeting their opinions, a journalist can give readers an excuse to question the transparency of their reporting. A journalist represents their news organization and should live up to that responsibility. It is also their responsibility to remain loyal to the citizens. A reporter's power should not be abused with conflicted interest between loyalty. They are employed by a news organization, but they work for the people. Because of this it is also their duty to remain transparent.

A journalist should report facts without spin or intended bias. This rule of transparency could be the most difficult for a reporter to follow. Michael Grunwald, an environmental reporter for the Washington Post, says, "I've tried to let the facts speak for themselves." This solution allows reporters to fulfill their duty and lets the public create their own opinions. However, it only works if journalists report the truth.

Truthfulness and honesty are at the heart of journalism. This requires journalists to verify their facts to ensure accuracy. Bill Mitchell of the Poynter Institute believes that the tools of verification are more readily available today than ever before. Journalists can access each other's work more easily, and they can keep each other in check as well as their own audience can. These tools of verification are available through new media--the new frontier of journalism.

New media is changing journalism as we know it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledges this in their statement “Journalism Integrity and the Compartmentalization of Ethics." Within this statement we read, "News organizations across the country are doing their best to adapt to changes as they develop. Nonetheless, these dynamics have not altered the fundamental ethical imperatives of journalism." The Fourth Estate must always stand for these traditional journalistic values. The definition of a reporter or journalist may change, but their ethical values are eternal. In order to become the most credible of journalists, it is important that I abide by both the fundamental ethical values of journalism, and my own personal code of conduct. In addition to the ethical rules stated, I have a set of personal values I follow as a journalist. This includes: stand as a watchdog, stay comprehensive and proportional, and be appropriately involved with the community.

Today the press is regarded as the Fourth Estate; reporters must keep people of power in check. It is my responsibility to act as a watchdog for the public. Many people rely on news to find out what goes on in their community. Not everyone has time to do research on their local leaders or government. Because of this, the responsibility falls on journalists. Poynter Online did a survey where they asked journalists to give meaning to the term "watchdog journalism." The results were a variety of responses, from "watchdog journalism is news that looks out for personal and civic interests," to "watchdog journalism is just kick ass and take names." No matter what watchdog journalism actually is, it all boils down to investigation. No watchdog journalist can produce quality work without digging for stories, sources, and facts. Sometimes I find myself in an unrealistic newsroom. The BYU Daily News doesn't have all the resources of a regular news station, so sometimes it is necessary to borrow material from other organizations. I feel like a journalist when I compile stories to be produced in a show, but at the end of the day, what have I really done? I've simply rewritten words to fit the television newscast. I need to take my role as a watchdog reporter more seriously. I need to cover a wider variety of topics and tell the audience more about the world around them.

When reporting, it is essential to remain comprehensive and proportional. In one of our textbooks, Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel say:

A citizen and a journalist may differ over the choices made about what is important. But citizens can accept those differences if they are confident that the journalist is trying to make news judgments to serve what readers need and want. The key is that citizens must believe the journalists' choices are not exploitative--they are not simply offering what will sell--and that journalists aren't pandering.

Different people find different things important in their lives. However, like Kovach and Rosenstiel say, the public trusts journalists to give them information that is important and relevant to their lives. The United States is one of the most ethnocentric nations in the world. I want to change that. The better I am able to report on different topics, the more educated my audience will become.

It is important to me that I am active in the community without crossing the line of what is appropriate for a journalist. One news organization that I think does agreeable advocacy, is Salt Lake's ABC 4. They live up to their motto, "Taking action, getting results," by running news stories about problems in the community they want to change. They use their popular status as a tool to make a difference in their market. I think this is an effective form of advocacy as well as a good way to appeal to their viewers, since much of their market consists of parents who want to see their community become a better place for their children.

I can become an excellent journalist by becoming an ethical journalist. Anyone can share information but it takes certain qualities to become a true reporter. For example, a journalist can be a blogger, but not any blogger can be a journalist. When determining true journalism from citizen reporting, it is critical to evaluate the reporter's ethical standards. I don't want my values to ever be questioned. The cheesy statement from Spiderman that says “with great power comes great responsibility” is true. Journalists need to be heros now more than ever.

Engaging and Relevant Journalism

In class we discussed how engaging readers is quite like getting engaged. It's hard to find "the one" because there are so many people, just like it is hard to decide what news to read because there are so many news organizations to choose from. As a result, people are choosing the most engaging news.

George Rebeck from the UTNE Reader, says:

Proponents of public journalism argue that "objectivity" and "balance" have caused people to believe that papers are merely mouthpieces for spokespeople and spin doctors, and that the real stories that affect people's lives rarely see print. The idea is to discover what the people really think, beyond the gripes that appear in letters to the editor.

When I first read this quote, I was confused. Is he saying that people don't want objectivity and balance? In a way, I think so. People want news from sources that reflect their own personal views. That is why some people think FOX news is outrageous, but others love it.

Timothy Griggs, manager of the New York Times, regards journalism as a calling. part of his responsibility includes "helping a community solve problems through engaging journalism." I think that is an excellent goal for journalists. Their journalism should be so engaging that it helps their audience solve problems. All in all, the best thing for a journalist to do is get to know the public that they are trying to reach. The more you know people, the more you know what they want.

The Journalist and Faith

In class we've often discussed bias and objectivity in journalism. I feel like I've reached a conclusion: it is impossible for a journalist to be impartial. In our latest class when we discussed religion, I had prepared myself for another lecture on objectivity and balance. This time, however, what I found most interesting was the discussion on how religion is covered.
Religion has become cliche in the news. Islams are terrorists and Mormons are polygamous. Unfortunately, the most popular knowledge of religion comes from news media. These cliches become stereotypes.

Jon Meacham, pulitzer prize winner and editor of Newsweek magazine, said that the days of the religion desk in the newsroom are over.
“The journalists who will survive and thrive in this era are those who are able to think holistically and not just see through a narrow lens,” he said.
Journalists shouldn't view religion as a beat, but as a part of a bigger story.
Meacham wrote a cover story for Newsweek in 2004 about Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of the Christ. The magazine received hundreds of responses from readers, who both commended and condemned the story. One such reader wrote in:

"It strikes me as inappropriate that Jon Meacham takes a dry, detached, journalistic tone in making such pronouncements as "Scripture is not always a faithful record of historical events" and the claim that the Bible's authors "shaped their narratives several decades after Jesus' death to attract converts and make their young religion--understood by many Christians to be a faction of Judaism--attractive to as broad an audience as possible," without a disclaimer that this is a view held only by some. Why work such a dismissive note of authority into his far from universally held understanding of the Bible's origins and accuracy? I'll match my credentials as a textual critic with his any day, and I accept the Bible's accuracy and reject the claim that it pushes a human agenda."
Doyle Srader, Ph.D., Dept. of Communication
Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches, Texas

First of all, it is interesting that Dr. Srader criticizes Meacham for being too "journalistic" when he himself is a communications professor. If this is the case, should journalists be more emotional when writing about religion? Of course not. It just goes to show that no matter how a certain religious topic is covered, someone will always be displeased.
Religion is a sensitive subject because it is something that people hold very dear to their hearts. It is too easy for a reporter to wound someone by printing an incorrect fact about a religion, making assumptions, or including bias. Even though Dr. Srader said it is inappropriate to be too "jounalistic" when writing on religion, it might be a reporter's only option.

Journalism as a Public Forum

I never imagined how important it was that journalism act as a public forum until I tried to imagine a world without free journalism. The sad part is I didn't have to imagine very hard; a place like that already exists.

In North Korea journalism is anything but a public forum. The only reason it exists is to serve the dictatorship. There is only one news organization and it is run by the government. The reporters have strict rules they are to follow, and their publications can only support their leaders

It's hard to imagine living in a world like that, especially since our government was founded through journalism.

I think that the Internet has helped journalism grow into the mass public forum that it is today. Reporters can keep each other in check because it is easier to access one another's work. Citizens can blog and even comment on news stories.

Commenting on news stories is the perfect way to find the audience's opinions, but it is also the perfect way to cause unnecessary contention. The saying "no news is good news" applies towards commenting. People comment the most when they complain or have something negative to say, and many people keep the good comments to themselves. A couple weeks ago when Mark Willes spoke to the university, he mentioned that his media is undergoing massive comment control. Some of the changes include:

• no anonymous commenting
• comment view control (readers can hide comments)
• no off-topic comments (readers can vote off certain comments)

The public side of journalism is impossible to control. There are simply too many people in the world that have access to news stories and different methods of sharing their opinion. It's just important that journalists don't let it get out of hand, while at the same time not taking over the public forum entirely.

Ethics: Responsibility to Conscience

Ethics has always been a critical part of journalism. Now that the journalistic media is blurred, so is the definition of ethics. Not only do journalists have to make ethical decisions regarding what they print or broadcast, but they must manage their blogs, twitter, social networking pages, and other online productions. Poynter Online lists some assertions of ethical decision-making in digital media--things that should be remembered when doing online reporting.

• Online publishing has the opportunity to serve audiences in new and meaningful ways.
• Journalism values in such areas as truth, community and democracy will endure only if we embrace dramatic changes in the pressures and competition we face and the products we publish.
• Written ethics guidelines based on those values are an essential ingredient in the decision-making required in various forms of emerging media.
• Transparency is a necessary dimension of the relationship that journalists and news organizations maintain with their audiences.
• Limited resources, the novelty of online publishing or a lack of protocols cannot become an excuse for shoddy work or causing harm.

The Internet, while at times can compromise a journalist's ethical values, is also causing for more ethical opportunities to arise. For example, building a newsroom where conscience and diversity to thrive has always been a challenge. It is hard for a single newsroom to house different genders, races, political parties and backgrounds in one place. Yet through online journalism readers can find the work of thousands of journalists together through news search engines such as Google News.
Still, as discussed in class, whether you are an online reporter, newspaper writer, or television producer, all journalists should have one thing in common:

Tell the truth. Don't make anything up.

Journalists are ultimately responsible for what they publish. They should put their responsibility to citizens above all else. One reporter who did not live up to this value is Bjoern Benkow.Benkow reported fabricated interviews that he had with Bill Gates, Michael Schumacher, Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Thatcher. The freelance reporter then sold his stories to Scandanavian Newspapers.
In this instance no one was particularly harmed by Benkow's fabrications. However, imagine the catastrophic results that could erupt if a journalist were to report false crimes or even fake weather reports. Journalists could do damage to themselves and the reputations of others. All in all, ethics should not be ignored. People want to believe what they read, but that trust can be easily broken if reporters abuse their positions.

Mark Willes

Mark Willes, President of Deseret Management Corporation, was both an informing and entertaining speaker. He explained that many exciting things lay ahead if the corporation combines old with new media, and they have a mission statement to help them accomplish great things.

"To be trusted voices of light and knowledge reaching hundreds of millions of people worldwide."

Even though DMC is owned by the church, Mr. Willes reinforced the fact that they "are not the church." Still, their purposes must be aligned with LDS values. The goal to reach hundreds of millions of people may be a steep one, but Mr. Willes said there is power in setting a goal that is so ambitious you might never get there.

It was very inspiring to hear about his life achievements. At General Mills, he was able to reduce an assembly line process from 3 hours to 11 minutes, saving the company millions of dollars. At the LA Times, he increased subscription by 20%. All of his success was a result of having nearly unreachable goals.

I believe that journalists have to embrace advancing technology and the wide range of media that lies ahead. As Mr. Willes would say, if you shoot for the moon, you'll land among the stars. If journalists do not set goals to advance with the times, they will be left behind.

Watchdog Journalism

Poynter Online did a survey where they asked journalists to give meaning to the term "watchdog journalism." The results were a variety of responses, from "watchdog journalism is news that looks out for personal and civic interests," to "watchdog journalism is just kick ass and take names."
No matter what watchdog journalism actually is, it all boils down to investigation. No watchdog journalist can produce quality work without digging for stories, sources, and facts.

In the end, all reporting is investigative
A reporter gives the public information about a certain topic. They don't just pull the facts from nowhere; facts are researched even if it's simply from an AP wire alert. Without journalists, the public would be in an information crisis. Most people don't know where to turn to find out what they need to know. Journalists help them by compiling all the latest news to convenience and inform the consumer.
Still, one asks, why does it matter?
In class, we discussed that watchdog journalism

• monitors power
  
• offers voice to the voiceless
  
• helps prosecution
  
• finds crimes that wouldn't have been found otherwise, and helps reform.

Watchdog journalism is so critical, but there are dangers that come with uncovering stories. At Columbia University's Watchdog Conference, journalists decided they need to take a stand in defiance of legal threats against investigative journalists. If more reporters were aware of their rights, they would be able to produce better work confidently. Legal issues sometimes stand in the way of a reporter publishing what they have discovered.

Just as the public needs watchdog journalists, journalists need the public to be watchdogs themselves. Consumers need to keep journalists in check. It is important that the public understands media literacy and how to interpret what a journalist has written.