Ethical Issues in Journalism - 2922 Words

1.0 INTRODUCTION: Journalists are professional people, trying to work within a code of professional ethics. This includes the need to be fair to all parties involved in any news story. However, journalists cannot operate in a vacuum, doing what they think is right without pressures being put on them. Journalists face pressure from a variety of sources, all trying to make the journalist behave in a way which is not the way the journalist would choose. It is important that you try to resist all these forms of pressure, as far as possible. Of course, you will sometimes fail. This is an imperfect world, and journalists are also imperfect. Nevertheless, you should always try to resist the kinds of pressure. Some of the issues†¦show more content†¦What should you do about this kind of pressure? The first thing which any junior journalist should do is to report it to their editor. It will be for the editor to decide what to do. He or she will need to resist the employer as far as possible, pointing out the dangers of failing to report the news fully and fairly. The main danger is that readers or listeners, who already know of the event which is being suppressed, realize that it is not being reported and so lose confidence in the newspaper, radio or television station involved. This may, in the long run, result in more serious problems for ministers than some short-term embarrassment, and may do more long-term damage to your organization’s finances than the loss of one advertiser. The truth is, though, that your power to resist pressure from your employer is limited. You can only do your best, and accept that the rest is beyond your control. 2.3 Authority Both government-owned and commercial news media may face pressure from authority - the government, the police, customs, or some other branch of authority. Governments can threaten, or make, laws to force all news media to be licensed. This would give them power to grant licenses only to those news organizations which please the government. Even the threat to introduce such legislation may be enough to frighten journalists, andShow MoreRelatedThe Ethical Issues On Civil Journalism2970 Words   |  12 Pagescapabilities, there is an urgent need to identify news sources that are genuinely journalistic.’ (Meyers, Wyatt, Borden, Wasserman.) What I wish to bring out and elaborate in this paper are the ethical issues on how civil journalism, despite the acceptance and cooperation with professional journalism, is differentiated from its professional and vetted track. 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