Ethical principles

“There is one sacred rule of journalism,” said the late reporter and prize-winning novelist John Hersey, who covered the aftermath of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. “The writer must not invent. The legend on the license must read: NONE OF THIS WAS MADE UP.” Ethical journalists do not put words in people's mouths or pretend to have been somewhere they have not. And they do not pass off the work of others as their own. Fabrication and plagiarism are violations of basic journalistic standards the world over.

Journalists face ethical dilemmas every day, under pressure from owners, competitors, advertisers, and the public. They need a process to resolve these dilemmas, so that the journalism they produce is ethical. They need a way of thinking about ethical issues that will help them make good decisions, even on deadline.

This way of thinking is grounded in the principles journalists rely on. These are the basic principles of the U.S. Society of Professional Journalists, a voluntary journalism organization:

· Seek truth and report it. Journalists should be honest, fair, and courageous in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information.

· Minimize harm. Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects, and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.

· Act independently. Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know.

· Be accountable. Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers, and each other.

On the surface, it may seem easy enough to abide by these principles. Of course, journalists should seek the truth and treat their sources with respect. But oftentimes, the principles themselves are in conflict. Journalists who seek the truthmay discover information that will be hurtful to the family of a person involved in wrongdoing. A reporter’s membership in a non-governmental organization may allow her to learn more about a story the group is involved with, but her association with the group may also compromise her independence and be difficult to justify to the audience. In many cases, making an ethical decision means choosing not between right and wrong but between right and right (from “Broadcasting in America”).

Дата добавления: 2015-07-11