Ethical Journalism

Although ethics and journalism have been discussed before in conjunction with other principles, this week’s lesson helped paint a clearer picture of how ethics plays a central role in journalism.  It is a powerful but true statement to state that journalism is an act of character.  People depend upon news presented as a way of obtaining information and forming their own opinions about issues, events, and people in the world.  As a result, journalists have an obligation to exercise their conscience, and a heavy burden rests upon their personal ethics and judgment.  Many journalists succeed in this endeavor, but those fail to be ethical in their reporting undermine this vulnerability and trust for those reading or listening.  For example, one major problem in journalism occurs when journalists fabricate the news.  Journalists may present the truth creatively and even borrow from the novelist in the writing format, but they must always remember to never make anything up.  Stephen Glass, a reporter for the New Republic, fabricated at least 27 of the 42 articles he wrote for the magazine, and this mistake was so notorious that the storyline of the film Shattered Glass was based upon this journalist.

However, despite the journalistic world certainly being far from perfect, numerous institutions and sources are readily available to prepare them for approaching difficult situations in an ethical manner.  Most news outlets strive to achieve an open newsroom that allows people to challenge one another’s assumptions, perceptions, and prejudices.  In this sort of environment, journalists have the responsibility to exercise their personal conscience and are able to challenge news editors and established authorities if required.  Diversity in the newsroom is important to achieve this goal because the newsroom in that case is more representative of the community, so the views are more accurate and representative, which can help create this honest, open atmosphere.  Further, other institutions dedicated to journalistic values, such as the Poynter Institute, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.  The Society of Professional Journalists highlights four essential attributes of an aspiring journalist: seeking the truth and reporting it; minimizing harm, namely showing compassion and treating sources as humans; acting independently from any interest other than the public’s right to know certain information; and being accountable for one’s actions.

Given these ethical values, it is easy to see how a journalist has to maintain a precarious balance between presenting the truth in an engaging manner without letting one’s personal interests infiltrate the story.  I admire how Jason Barron’s and J. David Goodman’s New York Times article entitled “Northeast Suffers Huge Damage in Storm’s Path; Millions Without Power” manages to convey the suffering, death, and destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy in New York City without becoming inappropriately emotional: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/us/hurricane-sandy-barrels-region-leaving-battered-path.html?ref=global-home .  However, a more sobering example I found illustrates how a reporter did not construct his story ethically.  Although it is certainly important to check facts before writing a story, Washington Post reporter Daniel de Vise showed entire drafts of his article to his sources.  While reporters are can verify with sources if they believe there has been factual inaccuracy, they are not supposed to show sources entire drafts to them “to avoid undue influence”: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/post-reporter-criticized-for----checking-his-facts/2012/07/25/gJQA9Yot8W_blog.html.  The Poynter Institute even mentioned this incident on its website, stating that after this debacle, reporters are required to have their editor’s approval before sending drafts to sources: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/182714/brauchli-says-washington-post-reporters-will-need-editors-approval-to-share-drafts-with-sources/.  Despite some corruption that will always inevitably be present in any profession, reporters now have numerous sources that espouse ethical values and will be caught more easily if they fail to adopt these morals in their reporting.

His Girl Friday Hits on Journalism

Sensational and memorable, His Girl Friday just based upon its effect on audiences throughout the ages could be equated with the intended impact of yellow journalism.  However, other traces of the era of Pulitzer and Hearst are abundant in the film.  The journalists working for The Morning Post seem to more about capturing the latest scandal rather than news of more substance.  For instance, when the murderer Earl Williams is in the newsroom, Walter Burns orders publishers to have the story of this convicted murderer captured by the newspaper to dominate the front page, and he even says “Never mind the European war or the Chinese earthquake – I don’t care if there’s a million dead!”.  Although the movie makes the aura in the newsroom fast-paced and even glamorous, it exaggerates this sentiment of solely pursuing dramatic and fleeting events designed to provoke or entertain.  Even more farcical is how the film’s characters brazenly violate journalistic ethics in the name of capturing these flashy stories.  When Hildy goes to the prison to Earl Williams, she bribes the warden, Cooley, to even speak with Earl.  Moreover, when she speaks with Earl, she does not reveal that she is a reporter, which is questionable ethically.  Perhaps the most comically corrupt act in the film is when Hildy and Walter Burns hide Earl in the newsroom, thus kidnapping him for the sake of a good story.  Similarly, although they are not journalists, the mayor and sheriff also behave unethically when they bribe the messenger of the governor’s reprieve of Earl Williams to go away so that this information does not become public.  In this respect, they are putting their reelection interests above telling the truth. 

This lack of moral fiber ties into how these characters did not “minimize harm.”  According to the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics, minimizing harm entails treating “sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.”  Perhaps the starkest example of how these journalists did quite the opposite of these ethical guidelines is when Hildy and Walter hide Earl Williams in a desk so that The Morning Post can claim credit for capturing this escaped criminal.  In fact, when Earl tries to crawl out of the desk at one point, Walter disdainfully orders “Get back in there, you mock turtle!” The characters thus did not remain independent and neutral.  Hildy and Walter put their own interests of fame and prestige above the law, which would require them to turn Earl in to the police.  Clearly, the sheriff and mayor were far from independent and neutral as they, too, tampered with the law to an even greater extent by bribing someone to keep information private so a man could be executed but their record could be untarnished.  They could consequently also be accused of indirectly facilitating unnecessary and unmandated murder.  As a result, it is certainly understandable why high brow newspapers took offense to the first incarnation of His Girl Friday, which was then titled The Front Page.  These newspapers are accurate in their statements that reporters were made to look more like gangsters than moderately well-off businessman.  Ruthless and parasitic, the reporters depicted in the film are willing to lie, cheat, and break laws for a profitable story.  Even in their personal lives this sentiment carries over, as shown when Walter gives Bruce counterfeit money so Bruce will go to jail temporarily and he can have more time to win back Hildy’s heart. 

An interesting twist was having the two protagonists, Walter and Hildy, be of the opposite sex, which was not true of The Front Page.  Not only did it infuse a romantic tension between the two characters, but it also highlighted an issue that was then, and oftentimes now, a controversial topic: the domain of a woman.  At first, Hildy expresses the desire to put her journalistic ambitions behind her and focus on being a more traditional homemaker and mother.  However, as she struggles with her innate talent and passion for writing, it becomes clear that the film is making a statement that women can venture out of the domestic sphere.  A large part of why Hildy and Walter are attracted to each other and shown as compatible is their shared love for journalism.  They are intellectual equals and their verbal sparring stands in stark contrast to her rather dull conversations with Bruce.

Despite the sordid nature of these characters’ behavior, His Girl Friday still manages to be “an old-fashioned valentine to journalism and American life.”  While the characters upon deeper contemplation could actually be seen as criminals lacking values, the film is a good-natured tribute to the then-pertinent issue of the dying art of yellow journalism.  These crimes are not only exaggerated and humorous, but often, in one interpretation, justify the means.  By temporarily hiding Earl Williams, for instance, Hildy and Walter were able to prevent a murder and the town being led by corrupt mayors and sheriffs.  As a result, the film depicts a potentially embarrassing and shameful period of journalism in a fond, light-hearted manner.

Objectify-ing Verification in Journalism

It is engrained in every student not only of journalism but also other academic disciplines never to plagiarize someone else’s work.  However, this week’s lesson was enlightening as it focused upon the importance of verification and how it ties into objectivity, both of which are at the heart of journalism.  Many people confuse objectivity with its traditional meaning which connotes a complete absence of bias in one’s reporting and writing.  Objectivity, as Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel aptly point out in “Journalism of Verification” in their book The Elements of Journalism, is better thought of as a “unity of method rather than aim.” Perhaps people are striving towards the impossible neutral voice and not providing a generally uniform way in which one gathers, interprets, and writes about events or issues.  While journalists certainly have diverse ideologies through which they view the world, they all can certainly adopt some common practices into their reporting.  In particular, they should never add information; they should disclose everything so that so that they never deceive; they should be transparent and be clear about what they know and do not know; they should rely on original reporting; and they should exercise humility by being honest and open-minded.  David Protess and his students at Northwestern University are prime examples of being open-minded and diligent.  Through their meticulous hard work and dedication, they were able to find and prove six prisoners wrongfully convicted of murder.  At the same time, it is important to note an interesting exception to these principles of verification: national security.  In fact, there was recently a high profile conviction regarding someone who told a journalist the name of C.I.A counterterrorism officer who was a leader in the team that located and captured Abu Zubaydah: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/us/former-cia-officer-pleads-guilty-in-leak-case.html?ref=us.  As a result, although anonymous sources are often frowned upon for being potentially misleading or not having enough direct knowledge about the matter being discussed, sometimes they are necessary to ensure safety.  Despite these exceptions, incorporating verification more into the commonly lauded term objectivity could very likely improve the depth and quality of journalistic writing.

Journalists: A Powerful "Priesthood"

The dichotomy of journalists being a part of a “priesthood” yet having their own personal worldviews is fascinating, and last week’s group aptly delved into this intricate and complicated relationship between these two aspects.  During this election season in particular, these conflicting tendencies are both relevant and arguably more visible.  

On one hand, journalists fulfill a watchdog role in which they monitor governmental and societal activities to point out corruption that could be detrimental to citizens.  Edmund Burke coined the term “the Fourth Estate” to describe how reporters can act as extensions of government.  After tonight’s presidential debate, for example, New York Times reporters performed avid fact checking of President Obama’s and Governor Romney’s respective comments implicitly in the name of providing the American people with accurate details so they can make informed decisions when voting during this critical election: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/debates/presidential/2012-10-16#sha=b658a6d0a.  

Similarly, to accomplish this goal of providing and promoting truth and upstanding moral values, another aspect of this “priesthood” is a separated journalist who remains objective and presents a fair and balanced report.  While this is a lofty and noble goal, it is extremely unlikely and arguably impossible to actually implement.  Journalists come from different backgrounds in terms of ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and numerous other factors, and these facets of their character color the lens by which they evaluate global events.  Cultural differences are especially important to note because journalists will report with different tones coming from a high context culture as opposed to a low context culture.  German audiences, for instance, are high context cultures in the way that they are uncomfortable with ambiguities, so in this case, journalists will provide more details about the story.  American audiences, by contrast, are more at ease with ambiguities, and if the journalist writes with too many details, it can be perceived as condescending in this scenario.

Although established journalists and editors pass on these principles of objectivity and protection to audiences in the process of socializing aspiring journalists, are these values actually reflected in current publications?  When comparing an analysis of tonight’s presidential debate with a reporter from the New York Times to another journalist in the Washington Times, there are noticeable differences.  In their article entitled “Rivals Bare Fists to Rematch” Jim Rutenberg and Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times had a more liberal view of the debate, at one point asserting that President Obama would “often dictate the terms of the debate.”  Stephen Dinan’s and Susan Crabtree’s article entitled “Obama, Romney Clash on Jobs, Energy and Libya at second debate” in the Washington Times takes a more conservative stance by including more of Governor Romney’s effective comments: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/16/second-debate-kicks-obama-romney-clash-jobs/?page=1.

Just as we all are, journalists are defined by their beliefs, attitudes, and values.  While some of these characteristics are extremely personal and are determined on an individual basis, it is important to note that at least journalists generally share and strive to provide ethical values and objectivity if they do not achieve this goal.

Ethics and Exposing Corruption

Hearing the esteemed and highly acclaimed Gretchen Morgenson emphasize the importance of exposing corruption and unveiling the truth gives me hope for current and future journalistic writing.  As not only an editor and columnist for the New York Times but also a former writer for Forbes and Vogue magazines, she has a wealth of information which has undoubtedly shaped her writing style and philosophy.  

While learning about the contrast between writing for magazines and newspapers was certainly fascinating and edifying, what interested me most was her approach to writing about various facets of the economic downturn in the United States.  For instance, Ms. Morgenson was writing about the 2008 economic downturn as it was unfolding, and based upon her personal analysis given her economic background and data from various sources, she came to the conclusion that mortgage meltdowns constituted a central part of the subsequent economic crisis.  Apparently, her reasoning resulted in the government then discouraging her to write about the mortgages as they claimed they were a minor part of the financial downturn.  This response disturbed her because it indicated that either the government did not understand the large role these questionable mortgages played or did not want the truth publicized.  Similarly, when she analyzed the American International Group’s (A.I.G.) conflict with Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs objected to this unsavory portrayal, and the Federal Reserve actually came to Goldman Sachs’ defense.  Despite this opposition in both of these cases, Morgenson was undeterred, and it seems other reporters for the New York Times echo her sentiment of the importance of revealing corruption around the world.  Even as recently as today, Simon Romero examines the current vote-buying scheme in Brazil in his article entitled “Brazilian Corruption Case Raises Hope for Judicial System.”  

As Jim Willis mentions in The Mind of a Journalist, her mindset is not unusual as there are numerous ethical codes in various journalistic organizations, and journalists are often referred to as being a part of a “professional priesthood.”  However, what distinguishes Ms. Morgenson and those journalists like unto her are the unshakeable courage and determination to stick to moral principles and provide society with truthful and accurate information.  Although Ms. Morgenson has written about numerous corruptions, it is important to note that she does not by any means parasitically seek out such unsavory stories.   Rather, she is fulfilling her duty as a writer and a citizen to unmask and halt these harmful or secretive activities.