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Journalistic ethics
What is the importance of quality journalism
What is the importance of quality journalism
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Journalism is the collection and sharing of information about ongoing events to a mass group of people (Bainbridge et al., 2011). Its core principle is to provide information as well as the truth to the public. Reported news serves a role in the society as they inform the public of relevant information on events that happens. Good journalism entails various factors that align with the interest of the public. In this essay, I will show different elements of what constitutes ‘good quality’ journalism and its role in the society. Firstly, journalist use news values as a tool to gauge what issues are relevant and would be in the public’s interest. Secondly, agenda setting and framing of stories shape how news stories are written to create the outcomes …show more content…
Four theories of the press is a representation of the media’s role in the society (Peterson, Schramm, & Siebert, 1956). Authoritarian theory has naturally been the way most countries practice to produce mass media content (Peterson, Schramm, & Siebert, 1956). Libertarian is another dominant way that news agencies follow base on the social and political characteristics of liberalism (Peterson, Schramm, & Siebert, 1956). The four theories were then developed into different roles; monitorial, facilitative, radical and collaborative roles, which were a driving force for democratic societies (Christians et al., 2009). These roles defined how good journalism could be achieved as watchdogs of the society. However, it is becoming an issue as institutions create news on the media along with advertising which intervenes with the main idea of creating news stories for the public good (McChesney, 2012). Good quality journalism is supposed to serve the community with news but commercial gains are getting in the way of how journalists write. The Daily Mail has been established as a conventional commercial based ownership model where its main aim is to gain the most profit from the content they produce. They operate based on a libertarian theory as they do not have government control and is self-regulated. They wrote the article with an episodic framing where it could create a larger impact by …show more content…
Quality journalism would encompass the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics within the article. It includes a guidance clause that requires journalists to think about the public interest during the creation of the content. The Daily Mail was unethical according to the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics. The eleventh MEAA Code of Ethics states that, “Respect private grief and personal privacy. Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.” In this case, the journalist were not respectful towards the relatives of the victims by having a video of the pilot’s father being weak and not able to stand on his own as he is being carried with the help of some people. This demonstrates what journalism should not be as it invades the privacy of the people who are affected by the
In his editorial "Words Triumph Over Images," Curtis Wilkie blames today’s media for being “reckless” and “a mutant reality show”. He believes that television and radio are “unfiltered”, which causes the quality of journalism for newspapers to be unmatched. Yet, it is unfair to label all media that is not print as lesser because the quality of any media relies on the viewers and the individual journalists, and in drastic situations like a hurricane, reporters may have many road blocks. Any of these aspects can affect the quality of journalism, which invalidates Curtis Wilkie’s claim.
In “Reporting the News” by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, the main idea is how the media determines what to air, where to get said stories that will air, how the media presents the news, and the medias effect on the general public. “Reporting The News” is a very strong and detailed article. The authors’ purpose is to inform the readers of what goes on in the news media. This can be inferred by the authors’ tone. The authors’ overall tone is critical of the topics that are covered. The tone can be determined by the authors’ strong use of transitions, specific examples, and phrases or words that indicate analysis. To summarize, first, the authors’ indicate that the media chooses its stories that will air
When discussing the media, we must search back to its primal state the News Paper. For it was the News paper and its writers that forged ahead and allowed freedoms for today’s journalism on all fronts, from the Twitter accounts to the daily gazettes all must mark a single event in the evolution of media in respects to politics and all things shaping. Moving on in media history, we began to see a rapid expansion around 1990. With more than 50% of all American homes having cable TV access, newspapers in every city and town with major newspaper centers reaching far more than ever before. Then the introduction of the Internet; nothing would ever be the same.
It is not uncommon to hear people complaining about what they hear on the news. Everyone knows it and the media themselves knows it as well. Some of the most renowned journalists have even covered the the media’s issues in detail. Biased news outlets have flooded everyday news. We find that journalism’s greatest problems lie in the media’s inability for unbiased reporting, the tendency to use the ignorance of their audience to create a story, and their struggles to maintain relevance.
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) provides a very clear and thorough Code of Ethics, which serves as a good definition of ethical journalism. According to this code, an ethical journalist must try to minimize any potential harm done to people directly involved with the event being reported. Such a journalist should also act independently of any personal biases, and be responsive to any criticism of their work. Finally, a truly ethical journalist must seek to find and report the truth (Society). Common sense reaffirms these guidelines. When one thinks of ethical behavior, one usually thinks along terms of being truthful, appreciative of others, acting responsively and using fair judgement. All of these concepts are explicitly stated in the SPJ's Code of Ethics.
An argument can be made that Journalism is one of the very few professions in the world of media that is handled with some sort of dignity and pride. After reading “The Elements of Journalism” by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, I realized how important journalism is to each and every one of us. Whether you’re a writer or a reader, the back and forth exchange between provider and consumer is extremely important in pushing society forward. Journalism after all is designed to challenge society, promote new ideas and spark conversation between one another. Despite the positives of journalism, there are issues that exist within the profession that cannot be excused and cannot be ignored.
Newspapers have allowed for such a freedom in our everyday lives, and most have not even realized this fact. They have provided us with an outlet to speak our mind about politics, societal issues, public differences, and religion and cultures. Searching online to find such knowledge can be extremely challenging; moreover, newspapers always seem to be a place to find valid information. Newspapers have started to come off the printer more slowly over the past decade. More people are turning to electronic ways to find information rather than going to the direct source where that electronic media got their information. Most reliable information comes from newspapers where high up and educated citizens or leaders speak their mind on certain and important topics. The reason newspapers should stay a part of today’s society is because they offer a way for people to speak freely about what they please and get their voice heard, they are always credible, and they help us hear the problems of the world openly from different perspectives.
media) is fundamentally important in understanding the mass media as an agent of those dominant in our society and the forces that motivate them in their exploration of the truth. How to use [IMAGE]? A qualitative analysis of the issues pertaining to journalism and the current Code of Ethics, utilizing information from a variety of different sources to obtain a vast body of knowledge. pertaining to journalism and the current code. Areas of Concern:.
The first is the crisis of viability. The chance of success in the journalism in the mainstream is approaching a decline due to the transformations in technologies and new access to multiple sources of information. The second is a crisis in civic adequacy. The contributions of journalism to citizenship and democracy have begun to shift and this shift has caused a question of the relevancy of journalism to democratic processes. In a democratic society journalism plays the role of the government watchdog. The effectiveness of society’s watchdog is now being challenged and in turn alternating the structure of the current democratic society. Many critical theorists of the press during the beginning of the 20th century were concerned with finding appropriate forms of public regulation of the press and journalism to ensure that journalists are writing “news and information about public affairs which sustains and nurtures citizen information, understanding and engagement and thereby a democratic polity” (Cushion and Franklin, 2015: 75) (Dahlgren, Splichal 2016). Journalism is a political entity that influences and informs the public. It is meant to work as a source of public information that helps and does not hinder the general public specifically in political processes. The article
"Journalism Ethics Online Journalism Ethics Gatekeeping." Journalism Ethics for the Global Citizen. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .
The introduction of the internet to modern society has brought about a new age of information relation. Since there is no longer a need to wait until the next print day, news from all over the world is available at a person’s fingertips within hours or even minutes of the event. With this advent of such easily accessible information, new problems for the news media have also arisen. Aside from potentially losing good economic standing because newspapers are no longer being purchased in the quantities they used to be, the credibility of the information itself is also put into question. No one would argue that credibility of news sources is unimportant, but there is a discrepancy in what takes precedence; economy and speed or getting the information out correctly at the first publishing by taking the time to make sure all facts are checked. The importance of having a system of checks on all information submitted is paramount. People trust what they read and believe it to be so without always questioning. If all information were to not be checked thoroughly, there would be instances where people read an article only for information included to be wrong and they go on believing such information. This can be very dangerous as misinformed people make misinformed decisions. With an increase in errors being made by citizen bloggers and even major publications, many are worried that journalistic ethics and credibility in the news media are being sacrificed in order to maintain swiftness in the news circuit and to retain personal profits. Though getting information to the masses quickly is a major part of the media’s importance, this should not mean that the credibility of that information being presented should be sacrificed for it...
Thirty years ago, if I told you that the primary means of communicating and disseminating information would be a series of interconnected computer networks you would of thought I was watching Star Trek or reading a science fiction novel. In 2010, the future of mass media is upon us today; the Internet. The Internet is and will only grow in the future as the primary means of delivering news, information and entertainment to the vast majority of Americans. Mass media as we know it today will take new shape and form in the next few years with the convergence and migration of three legacy mediums (Television, Radio, Newspaper) into one that is based on the Internet and will replace these mediums forever changing the face of journalism, media and politics. In this paper I will attempt to explain the transition of print media to one of the internet, how the shift to an internet based media environment will impact journalism and mass media, and how this migration will benefit society and forever change the dynamic of news and politics.
In trying to attract new audiences, news media have begun to transition from reporting to becoming a form of entertainment. With the meteoric rise of social media’s role as a news source, the fight for an increase of diversity in the media, and the ever-growing desire of immediate content, the future of responsible journalism is more important than ever. Ask yourself, why do I think the way I do? Where do my political views originate? How do I prove them? Most likely, it is due to the biased portrayal of issues in the media and the politicization that accompanies what we consume. Now, compare your views to your preferred news reporting entity. More than likely, they are the same.
The media is sometimes called the “Fourth Estate” because of its influence in shaping the course of politics and public opinion. Some people are influenced by what they read or hear and others are not. There is a well-known psychological process called selective attention. Wilson, Dilulio, and Bose define it as “paying attention only to those news stories with which one already agrees.” (290)
McLoed and Hawley (as cited in Wilson, 1995) elucidated appropriately, "a recurrent journalistic controversy has involved the question whether journalism is a true profession or merely a craft." Sparked primarily by Lippmann and Dewey, extending into the age of the penny press (mid 1980s) and later, the attempt to commercialise the news (late 1980s) to our present era, there has existed a contentious debate on journalism being distinguished as a profession (Wilson, 1995). Encapsulated in a democratic homeland since the advent of time, media systems are habitually acclaimed as the “fourth power,” with its journalists often hailed as the “watch-dogs” of such a society. Lending itself to act as ‘gatekeeper’ for the wider society and performing the traditional role of journalism, the media (overall) exist as powerful “instruments of knowledge” that perform the function of providing information to the masses in a public sphere, where issues may be discussed, justified and contested (Scannell, 1995, p. 17). Evidently, media workers play a pivotal role in our society; however, their status in the realm of professions is not definite.