Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Should journalists be able to participate in controversial discussions outside of work?
It's a debate that has the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics on one side and politically active journalists on the other side that has gone all the way to the Supreme Court. This is a forum intended for the discussion between professionals in the news media and the consumers of such news. Should news organizations have the right to keep their journalists and employees from participating in certain groups/organizations that they do not approve of?
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3 comments:
I think that there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration.
First things first is the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." How can the media live by this element of the Constitution and then ignore a section of it by restricting journalists from peaceably assembling with the groups they so choose.
Isn't it contradictory for a news organization, whose primary goal is to inform the public so that it can make educated decisions and self govern, to not allow journalists and employees from participating in the democratic process it so strives to protect and encourage.
The SPJ code of ethics states that journalists must be independent and avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived; but it also states that journalists should disclose unavoidable conflicts. We are all people with our own backgrounds, biases, beliefs and convictions and that is an unavoidable conflict with neutrality.
The best solution is for journalists and members of the press to be transparent with their political and social associations so that the public can judge for themselves if the inherent biases of the reporter are soaking into their writing.
What do you think?
There are many professions that demand sacrifices in return for privileges. Celebrities sacrifice their privacy, just like newspaper reporters give up the right to political involvement. There’s a reason newspapers have gone away from being partisan. There would be too many questions in the reader’s mind about bias – sacrificing the size of your audience. Yes, the first amendment does protect individual rights, but according to SPJ, “Journalists should remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.” Avoiding impropriety and keeping up your appearance come with the job. Journalists have a duty to their readers and that is to report with an objective view and let them form their own opinion. Getting involved in events, especially controversial events, is asking for trouble. If you’re a well known journalist recognized at a controversial event you better be ready for the consequences. Don’t be surprised if you lose your readers’, therefore threatening your publications reputation, therefore risking your career. Every journalist should know that when going into the journalism field, there are many sacrifices to make in order to be great. You decide if you’re ready for that or not.
Reaching a Common Ground...
•If you are going to regulate what your employees do in order to look objective, you shouldn’t discriminate against certain issues or organizations because by doing so you are taking a stance on them.
•Instead, you could regulate the level of involvement your employees have in such organizations; because initiating a rally and participating in one are different. As citizens in a democratic society, you should be able to show your individual support for any cause you wish. The line can be drawn when you are trying to influence the public through your involvement – conflict of interest.
•The company and the journalist owe it to one another to be honest and open about their expectations. The company should disclose any limitations they have and the journalist should be open with their involvements.
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