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There always seems to be some kind of breaking news going on in the world. Whether it’s a terrorist attack, celebrity death, natural disaster, or election results, there will always be someone there to cover it. With social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, people know about the breaking news before it even airs on live television. According to the class lecture, “ethics is the study of what constitutes right and wrong in our society.” Even though we hate to admit it, journalists don’t always do the right thing. Getting every last detail of a story is so important to them that they’ll do anything to do it, even if it costs them their job. So with this being a known fact, there is obviously a need for ethics when it comes to reporting in the media. Yes, we want to know what is going on around us but when reporting crosses the line and goes way too far, someone needs to put an end to it.
In news reporting
there is always a need to be the first to cover the story. However, in some
cases we have seen that being first isn’t always a good thing. You have to be giving
out truthful information as well. As journalists, people rely on us to give
them factual information and keep them updated on what’s going on in the world.
Ethics are extremely important when it comes to media. One
case that can be used as an example is that of the famous phone hackings
involving Milly Dowler
which was revealed recently from an article
in the LA Times that “Journalists from the defunct British
tabloid News of the World lied about
their relationship with police as well as having hacked into cellphone messages
in order to gather information about a missing teenager.” This definitely doesn’t fall under being
ethical. Not only was it illegal but it also gave journalists all around a bad
reputation. It also gives questions as to what kind of ethics the journalists
employed at the News of the World were taught.
According to the SPJ Code of Ethics, “Journalists
should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting
information.” So then why are we always seeing cases where this doesn’t apply
to some journalists? There are certain
rules and guidelines to follow for a reason. If we didn’t have ethics in the
media no one would know where to turn to when seeking the truth. As
journalists, we want to be credible and reliable sources.
Ethics come to
play an important part in the business world as well. When making a decision,
you always want to make the most ethical one, even if others might not agree
with you. There will always come a time when there’s a big decision on the line
and the pressure is on. Whether it’s having to lay off employees, joining with
another company, or speaking up about a situation that you know isn’t right. Business
owners as well as other employees in the business world partake in decisions
like this on an everyday basis. If it weren’t for ethics though, they wouldn’t
know how to deal with situations like this.
When dealing with
making decisions in the business world, it always depends on the person making
the decision to see if they will make an ethical choice. As Poznack Law states,
“The subject of business ethics is complex. Fair-minded people sometimes have
significant differences of opinion regarding what constitutes ethical behavior
and how ethical decisions should be made.” Money can sometimes be the cause of someone
choosing to do the unethical. If it means closing a big deal or when it
involves going behind the company do what’s best for you, it may just be the
money getting to your head. People in power tend to get greedy with their money.
As Bill Taylor mentioned in his blog Money
and the Meaning of Life, “Everywhere
you look, there's compelling evidence that the single-minded pursuit of wealth
often leads smart people to do incredibly stupid things — things that destroy
what money can't buy.”
Many people in the
workplace, both media and business professionals, sometimes don’t have the
proper training in dealing with ethical decision-making. According to Joshua
Joseph a lot of companies offer ethics
programs in the workplace “that are meant to affect how people think about
and address ethical issues that arise on the job…they provide employees with
ethics standards, training, and resources to get advice, and create a comfortable
work environment where employees can ask questions and be guided through these
dilemmas before making big decisions.”
When it all comes
down to it, without ethics in media and business decision-making, everything
would fall apart. People would get away with the impossible. There wouldn’t be
fairness left to anything. Unethical behavior would take place at all times. No
one would know the right from wrong. There are just some decisions in life that
people need guidance with, and thank goodness for the rules of ethics.
Sources:
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