ETHICS IN JOURNALISM

This week we looked at ethics in journalism. Ethics being a code of principles which govern ones behaviour, they dictate how we should behave and what the ‘right thing to do’ is.  They are linked to our own morality and values and govern (all, not just journalistic) behaviour on theoretical and a practical level.

As journalists we sort through and present information to our society, and we must do so in a passive way that has as little effect on our sources as possible.  In relation to journalism, there are several bodies that examine ethics in relation to journalism. They are as follows:

MEAA (Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance)

AJA (Australian Journalists Association):

APC (Australian Press Council)

ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority)

ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Workplace codes of practice and conducts

The Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) is one of the aforementioned acting Australian bodies that have a set standard for ethics in journalism. On their website, they have (what I thought to be) a very interesting and accurate description of what a journalist is and why we need ethical codes and practises.

“Respect for truth and the public's right to information are fundamental principles of journalism. Journalists describe society to itself. They convey information, ideas and opinions, a privileged role. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, suggest and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy. They give a practical form to freedom of expression. Many journalists work in private enterprise, but all have these public responsibilities. They scrutinise power, but also exercise it, and should be accountable. Accountability engenders trust. Without trust, journalists do not fulfil their public responsibilities.”

The MEAA principles outline that journalists should behave with:

Honesty

Fairness

Independence

Respect.

A full list of the MEAA Code of Ethics can be viewed here.

Some common problems in journalism is confidentiality, privacy, stereotyping and misconstruing information. As journalists we are self-regulated when it comes to ethics (the aforementioned bodies recommend but there is no law behind their codes) so we need to ensure we always act with the highest of integrity and respect for the rights of others.