ETHICS:  COM 310

LECTURE 2 :  Part 2

The Need for Ethical Standards

Last Updated: 01/26/2009

Don't Forget to see the links at the bottom of the lecture!!!

Part 2:
REQUIREMENTs of SYSTEM of ETHICS:

New Technologies require new codes: 

In the wake of some ethical problems, including false stories and plagiarism, the New York Times adopted a new and revised ethics code in 2003. See the new New York Times revised code:

While this article is 10 years old, many of the codes it addresses haven't really changed that much.  It offers an excellent summary of industry codes of ethics.  Be sure to see the codes of ethics in the appendix of your text book.  All of the key ones are there. Looking at those first may give you a better perspective as you read this article. " Codes of Ethics and Beyond" by Bob Steele, posted at the Poynter Institute, April, 1999.   http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=5522  

In the wake of the Jayson Blair and Jack Kelley, many media organizations have toughened their ethics codes and the enforcement of those codes.  But it is important to understand more than just the rules. See the Poynter.org article linked here for more on this: 

New technologies offer new challenges, and as a result, some media organizations have developed ethical codes or guidelines for using them:  See:

So now we have moral rules, but we all know that rules don't cover all of our ethical responsibilities.  What is the difference between moral rules and moral duties?


MORAL RULES and MORAL DUTIES
Moral Rules:  Obviously these are agreed upon, codified, and based on all the requirements of codes of ethics.  Moral rules affect moral reasoning.

Moral Duties:   These are responsibilities imposed on the individual by society.  There are two types: 

Be able to discuss the two hypothetical cases presented on in your text book.  

HOW DO YOU DECIDE AMONG "MORAL DUTIES?" 
Duties are sometimes referred to as loyalties and one must decide WHICH among loyalties we have are the most important. (That takes you back to the discussion we had about values and priorities a few days ago...)

There are six categories of persons or groups to which we have obligation: 

Some of the toughest choices we have to face have to do with deciding which category of obligation is most important.

Read the following articles and evaluate the issues discussed in terms of choices which have to be made among conflicting obligations or values.

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What happens when Law and Ethics collide? 

Some concern exists that printed or published codes of ethics can serve as a roadmap of  liability for the organization or writer involved.  Read "Ethic's Codes: The Lawyer's Take" 1/30/03 Poynter Online at    http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=36&aid=18920 

[Can you have a code that is specific enough to be useful with out the liability problems? Does one defeat the other other?]

Our society values respect for authority. It's considered essential for the preservation of the society. 
Legal Codes: have penalties specifically prescribed for violations. 
Moral Codes: no specific penalties assigned to violations (at least not legal ones beyond the laws above) 

Are Media Professionals EVER justified in Breaking the LAW? 

Journalists serve a unique function as representatives of the public and may find themselves torn between their obligation to that public and their legal duties.. They may find their responsibility to the people is the more important of the two... 

If a law is "just" it can be over-ridden ONLY by a MORE compelling moral obligation. 

Let's look at some examples:

Photo Journalism offers some critical opportunities and examples through which to examine these issues:   (We did not get to go through all of these in class, so be sure to go to each of these links.)

Photographers frequently say they see the picture through the lens and that it's almost like not even being there.  One focuses on the shot, and getting the shot, not necessarily the individuals and the situation around at the time.  This can lead to a lack of sensitivity.  Consider the following photos discussed in class.  (Warning: Some of these photos are graphic and potentially upsetting.)

Those of you in the Internet section need to check ALL of these websites thoroughly, because you have not had the benefit of class discussion.  You must be able to write about these pictures and the ethical decisions associated with them.  That goes for ALL links on this lecture page.

Your author talks about the "morbid curiosity" human beings seem to have.  What role does our understanding of that play in the things we look at ourselves...and subsequently the things we choose to put in our media? How do they apply to these pictures? 

What are the general and particular obligations associated with each of those? Why? Which would you run? Why? Why not?

[ A personal perspective from Dr. Mc......

I have shared this with classes in the past, and I think it is relevant to your evaluation of these issues. Regarding "morbid curiosity"....When I was about eight years old, we were in the car and passed a serious accident. It was dark and there were flashing lights, sirens, people standing around...I asked Dad to slow down and craned my neck to see what was happening. My mother told me to sit down, turn around and NOT look. She said, "How would you feel if you were lying on that pavement, bleeding, in pain, and all those people were gawking at YOU? Treat others as you would like to be treated, Janet. Be respectful of their pain and their privacy. If you want to help, pray. I did, and I never forgot what she said."

Human beings seem to be drawn to pain and suffering. We DO have a morbid curiosity, but is that a barbaric or a civilized reaction to pain? Not everyone has a mom who puts it in perspective so clearly...What is our responsibility as media practitioners to shelter innocent people who might be victimized by thoughtless morbid curiosity? How do we balance that with our responsibility to do our job?]  

 

Julianne H. Newton has written an outstanding book which I recommend:  The Burden of Visual Truth: The Role of Photojournalism in Mediating Reality. The text considers the ethical role of photojournalists and the impact they can have. Newton identifies a typology of relationships photojournalists can have with the people and events they record.  They offer some useful insight for our discussion at this point: (See p. 141)

She also discusses the role of the visual media on those who see or use it.  Her approach is based the theory of para-social relationship and symbolic interaction, and her point is that people are impacted by visual media in many different ways, sometimes for the rest of their lives.   Our reactions to the photos we have seen today have a lot to do with

Consider your own reactions to the Baylee Alman picture or people falling to their deaths.....  To what degree were your reactions affected by your previous experience or how much you identified with the people involved. 

 

Institutional Autonomy and Social Responsibility:

[See Chapter 2 of your text]

It is important to remember that institutions don't behave unethically; PEOPLE do!

So what is social responsibility? According to your author, it is a "...commitment to pubic good that outweighs short term individual self interest." It involves

RECIPROCITY: individuals and institutions have a moral obligation or responsibility to the welfare of the public. In exchange for assuming this responsibility, they get respect and trust.

There are several key examples where media practitioners were faced with defining just what this public trust and moral obligation meant:

The Pentagon Papers: We will discuss this case much more thoroughly in Com 400, but gist of the issue was that Daniel Ellsburg stole copies of Rand Corp. research report documenting the series of mistakes that led to our involvement in the Vietnam war. He believed that if the government leaders saw it, they would realize our involvement was based on erroneous decisions and thus pull out. He tried to get Henry Kissinger, several Congressmen and Senators, and White House personnel to look at the papers or a summary of them, but none would. So he contacted a friend at the New York Times. After a "cloak and dagger" operation involving research and writing, the Times published the story with excerpts of these top secret papers. Richard Nixon wanted the publication of future installments halted. The case went to the Supreme Court in record time and the court sided with the Times. While the justices had varied reasons for that, the paper claimed victory. (See Pentagon Papers Packet in library.) The issue was whether or not the publication had acted responsibly in publishing those documents? What were the issues at stake? What do you think?

See "Victory for the Press," Newsweek.  July 12, 1971.  (available in Collier in the stacks or at Dr. Mc's office)

 

The Progressive and the bomb: This magazine wanted to publish (and ultimately did) a story about how to make a hydrogen bomb. All information had been taken from public resources. The issue was whether the publication was in conflict specific statutes about atomic weapons and whether such publication was responsible. What do you think? What are the issues involved here? Is this different from similar information which is currently available on the Internet?

See Morland, Howard.  "The H-Bomb 'Secret: Learning it is easy,  once you know the handshake."  Progressive. 5/79 p. 24.

What IS the responsible thing to do?

There are some KEY POINTS OF VIEW concerning ethical decision-making:

1. The Libertarian View:

This is basically "let the buyer beware." A company is responsible if it provides jobs for employees and a stable financial base for the economy. Both individuals and corporations are in it for their own self-interest and that is assumed.

The positives of this point of view are that if fosters:

This was the dominant ethical philosophy of the 19th century, and it let to muckraking due to serious abuses on the part of some corporations. There were some ethical guidelines formed for journalists during this period (in large response to criticism of newspapers in their "yellow journalism" stage). Among them were a value for:

2. The Social Responsibility View:

This view stresses the social contract concept that conducting business in a society is a privilege and not a right. Profits are not always good for the public and responsibility to the public is an important value. Social responsibility in media developed as media grew and developed:

Cannons of Journalism (First national code; Society of Newspaper Editors)

NAB CODE (1928 by the National Association of Broadcasters)

RTDA (Radio and Television News Director's Association)

PRSA (Public Relations)

AAA (Amer. Association of Advertisers)

Five Essential Functions of the Press according to the Hutchings Commission:

Your author questions whether or not media can sustain autonomy and be socially responsible as well?

Why?

Why Not?

Critics of the media say "no" for several reasons:

Why might this position might not be true? Why might it be true?

Check your text book for the following information:

How do institutions become socially responsible?

What is the difference between a professional code

and institutional code?

Why can't the codes be enforced?

What are informal conduct codes?

What are Press Councils?

What happened to the National News Council? What was it and why was it created?

 Additional RESOURCES:

Copyright, 2006

Dr. Janet McMullen