Paper: 15 Mass Media & Communication
Topic: Codes of ethics in Journalism
Ajit A. Kaliya
M.A. Sem 4
Roll No. 1
Enrollment No. 2069108420170013
Batch 2016-18
Email: kaliyaajitbhai@[Link]
Department of English, MKBU
• Introduction:
• Codes for ethics for journalism is set of principles that guide journalists in
reporting the news. There are different codes for different countries but
some generally accepted ethics of journalism are as bellow:
• 1. Truth and accuracy
• 2. Impartiality
• Credibility
• Accountability
• Objectivity
Why does it need?
• To guide journalists what to do and what not to do.
• To make journalists aware of their responsibilities.
• To give journalists freedom of expression.
• To make them aware of their limitations.
• To minimize harm.
• to assist journalists in dealing with ethical dilemmas.
• The codes and canons provide journalists a framework for self-monitoring
and self-correction.
Codes of ethics in journalism
• 1. Truth and accuracy:
- Professional journalism stands on the foundation of ‘’truth’’
- Journalists cannot always guarantee truth, but getting the facts right is the
cardinal principle of journalism.
- News must be well sourced, based on sound evidence, thoroughly tested
and presented in clear and precise language.
- Journalists must not knowingly and materially mislead audiences.
- They shouldn't distort known facts and present invented materials as
facts.
- Journalists must acknowledge serious factual errors and correct them
quickly, clearly and appropriately.
2. Impartiality:
- Journalist should maintain balance in his/her output
- Balancing story or media content means treating all those concerned in
equal footing.
- shouldn't overpraise or undermine anyone in his/her story. They should
give equal platform to both sides and all sides.
- They must incorporate quotes/comments/statements from both sides in
their stories.
- If one side is not available for the statement required for the story, then
the journalist must mention that he/she was not available for the
comments.
3. Credibility:
- Credibility is key element for journalist to maintain ethical journalism.
- Journalists need to focus on fact, figures, sound and solid evidence
- They should always concentrate on digging out facts of the particular
subject matter if they are to maintain credibility.
4. Accountability:
- Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and
explaining one’s decisions to the public.
- Respond quickly to questions about accuracy, clarity and fairness.
- Corrections should be made when errors are discovered.
[Link]:
- Journalistic objectivity refers to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality,
and nonpartisanship.
- Objectivity in journalism aims to help the audience make up their own
mind about a story, providing the facts alone and then letting audiences
interpret those on their own.
- To maintain objectivity in journalism, journalists should present the facts
whether or not they like or agree with those facts.
- Objective reporting is meant to portray issues and events in a neutral and
unbiased manner, regardless of the writers opinion or personal beliefs.
• Some other codes:
- Avoid plagiarism
- Minimize harm
- Act independently
Case studies
• The Watergate story: Two reporters for The Washington Post, carefully
verifying and expanding upon information given to them by sources they
went to great lengths to protect, revealed brutally damaging information
about the American president. The question is - Is protecting a source
more important than revealing all the relevant information about a news
story?
• In this case two ethical issues can be found: First is granting anonymity to
a source is a vow that never should be broken and other is a journalist’s
primary duty is to reveal information, not conceal it
• Most journalists consider The Washington Post’s decision to protect Deep
Throat an example of journalism at its finest.
• A Congressman’s Past
• The (Portland) Oregonian spent months trying to discover the truth about this
persistent rumor. On Oct. 12, 2004, it published an article more than 3,000 words
long explaining what if found out. David Wu a democratic member of the U.S.
Congress, had been accused by an ex-girlfriend of a sexual assault some 28 years
previously. But criminal charges never were filed, and neither the congressman,
David Wu, nor his accuser wanted to discuss the case now, only weeks before the
2004 election.
• Here the question is should this story be published? The congressman could lose
his seat. His long-ago accuser might be badgered by other media organizations.
Should you be concerned about that?
• In this case The Oregonian should have never published this story. It is pointless to
publish story after 28 years after without any case. It is also possible that it is paid
news by opposite party as the story published just weeks before the election.
• Offensive images:
• Caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad didn’t cause much of a stir when they were
first published in September 2005. But when they were republished in early 2006,
after Muslim leaders called attention to the 12 images, it set off rioting throughout
the Islamic world. Embassies were burned; people were killed.
• Here the question is, Is it freedom of expression? Or is it unnecessary provocation?
Is there an acceptable middle ground between showing the blunt truth and
minimizing the harm of insult?
• Cartoons are supposed to made on current problems and people. So in this case
making cartoons of prophet Muhammad is seems meaningless. To satirize some
problem dragging in whole religion and its God is never a good ides.
• Conclusion:
As press is one of the four pillars of democracy press ad media should
provide the accurate facts to the people. Those codes of ethics can help
journalists to avoid dilemmas. Press must stay away from paid news and
fake news.
• Works Cited
• Ethics Case Studies. 27 March 2018 <[Link]
• Gautam, Bimal. Code of Ethics for Journalists. 27 March 2018
<[Link]
Code_of_Ethics_for_Journalists.pdf>.
• Howell, Kaitlyn. The Importance of Ethics in Journalism. 19 February 2014. 27
March 2018 <[Link]
journalism/>.
• Journalism ethics and standards. 3 February 2018. 27 March 2018
<[Link]
• The 5 Principles of Ethical Journalism. 27 March 2018
<[Link]
•