Personal Code of Ethics

I have learned a lot over the semester about what journalism is. Quite honestly when I signed up for the class I thought of journalists in a rather stereotypical way; however, now I understand the different methods and issues surrounding the profession.
    I think that good journalism can only be achieved when the journalist is first loyal to the pubic. I think that it is very easy for journalists to forget who they are writing for and also who they are writing to.
    In most great stories there was this one common theme. Loyalty to the public. The watergate scandal was an important case because it showed the public just how corrupt Nixon had become. It meant something to the public and it was an important story. It wasn’t just shocking or career changing. It was important information that the public needed to know.
    On the other hand, I think that journalists often get caught up in finding the biggest most shocking story and they forget that the public needs correct, current, and complete information about a lot of things, not just the big stories.
    Journalists tend to use anonymous quotes when dealing with these big issues. I understand that sometimes this method is needed if the sources life or livelihood is in danger; however, this in most often not why they are used. It seems like they are used because it’s easier to get people to talk when they aren’t held responsible for what they say and what information they’re giving out.
    I am not a journalism major. I’m taking this class for my minor. The thing that I will take away from this class is what kind of media consumer I want to be.
    I think in most cases people take what they hear on TV or read in the newspaper at face value. They assume that it is completely true just because it was in the paper. I know before I took this class that is how I approached news. Now, however, I make an effort to check every story that I read.
    Especially in this social media centric culture where any anonymous person can write whatever they want, we need to be aware of what information we are taking in and how true it is. My parents watch the news every night and they also read the newspaper every morning. Most of the younger generation simply read a couple of websites and call it a complete understanding of current news.
    I think that this is going to cause problems in the future. The television and printed news are geared towards two slightly different things, so you are getting slightly different information. You are also learning about a large range of things, meaning that you generally know what is going on in the community and world.
    The new generation, however, is simply reading about what interests them. I think it is a problem that we aren't exposed to all of the news that our parents are. When all you read is what you are interested in, you don’t gain any understanding of the world around you or your community.
    Whether that is because the age group simply haven't matured that far yet or because of a changing mind set in the culture is still to be seen. 
    I think an important function of journalism is that they are the watchdog of big business and government. To do this journalists must maintain an independence from those they cover and those they work for. journalists must present an unbiased view of the facts to cover stories correctly.
    Most important is that journalists know what their moral standards are ethics are before they are faced with difficult decisions. For example a journalist should decide to never take a bribe for either writing a story or killing one. Then, when faced with such a situation they would already know what they are willing to do.
    I think that it is important for the journalist to individually do this as well as for news organizations to provide their employees with a company code of ethics. As a news consumer I have begun to look at different papers ethical standards and it helps me to trust certain paper or organizations more than others. It lets me know that what they print is factual and that they are responsible for what is being covered.
    In the end I think it comes down to accountability. When journalists are accountable to the public and to each other, then they present the best possible story. When they are allowed to write what they want with no one checking them, that is when the media runs into issues.