Ethical Dilemma Involves a Major

Ethical dilemma involves a major advertiser in a newspaper, the Weekly Herald. The newspaper was directly affected, while the television news medium was also involved. The company involved sells used cars, and has bought a large amount of advertising space under contract for one year. Furthermore the stated policy of the company is to remain non-partial in its hiring and termination of employees.

The ethical dilemma arose when an investigative reporter discovered a threat of legislation against the motor company for unfairly terminating an employee. The employee's claim is that he was mistreated and subsequently terminated because of his race and religion. The employee is Arabic, and his religion is Islam. He has been working for the company for ten years, and has thus started employment before the 9/11 attacks. His claim is that he began to be mistreated just after the attacks.

Upon investigation, the reporter was told that the employee was not fired for these reasons. He had been caught stealing money from the company's cash box, of which he had been in charge since the beginning of his employment with the company. The employers offered to provide proof of their own investigations regarding the matter.

The problem however arose as a result of the company's refusal to allow newspaper reporting regarding the matter. If the reporter were then to write about the matter regardless of this, it constitutes a conflict of interest with an advertiser. The company manager also threatened to withdraw all current and future advertising and claim refunds should the Weekly Herald not comply with its wishes.

The problem with this is however that public interest would not be served by the newspaper's silence. The former employee has threatened to go to the press. As the circumstances of his termination relate directly to a very current issue, there is no doubt that the story would reach television and other news media. The problem for the Weekly Herald is that its readership would lose the trust that has been cultivated over half a century of reporting.

The ethical dilemma then relates to the newspaper's obligation to its readership and its obligation to a regular and major advertiser. It has always been the policy of the Weekly Herald to report the news regardless of possible bad publicity. Also, suspicions have been aroused by the motor company's willingness to prove internal investigation and yet refusing permission to publish the story.

The reporter in question brought the matter to the attention of the editor, who contacted the human resources manager to discuss the matter. It was decided that it was in the paper's best interest to pursue the story. The policy of the Weekly Herald is clearly that reporting should be honest, current and impartial. If any place of business is guilty of misconduct with regard to its employees, readers have the right to know about it. Furthermore, in the intensely competitive world of reporting, it would serve the paper well to bring fully investigated, truthful and timely material to the reader. Waiting for the angry employee to go to the press with the story would be unfair both to the paper and to its readership. Firstly, the Weekly Herald would prove untrustworthy in terms of newsworthy items and secondly, it is likely that the objectivity of the story would be compromised.

It was therefore decided that further investigation is necessary. The reporter was then commissioned to approach the motor company for its proof of internal investigation. Furthermore the manager of the company was to be approached for comments and for permission to publish the story. The employee would also be approached for his side of the story in order to provide as objective a view of the situation as possible. Because the matter is of extreme sensitivity in our current society, it is essential that all interviews and requests be handled with the utmost sensitivity, while not compromising the truth. If the company threatens the paper in any way in terms of liability or withdrawal of funds, these threats will be noted for future use. This could then become necessary if the paper is sued by the motor company for example. This is also a reason why it is absolutely necessary to pursue all avenues of information in order to be as accurate as possible in reporting.

I do believe that the actions described above are within the ethical framework of media reporting. The newspaper's first obligation is to its readership and to society at large. If the motor company has nothing to hide in terms of its actions, it should be willing not only to provide investigative proof, but also permission to publish the story. As a matter of trust and ethical reporting, it is therefore in the newspaper's best interest to investigate further and publish the story as truthfully and objectively as possible. If this means losing a large partner in advertising revenues, the disadvantage is financial, but the credibility of the paper remains intact. Pursuing the story could indeed eventually be financially advantageous for the newspaper, as honest places of business will be attracted to the Herald's advertising pool. If the case then has further repercussions, such as court cases and further settlements with the employee, the Herald is free to pursue these stories on the basis of the first report.

Regarding ethical issues, there are 33 codes governing publishing and reporting in the media (Steele & Black, 1999). The most important and most often addressed of these codes is the fact that the reporting media should be a source of news and information rather than a politically or financially driven enterprise. Politicians and revenue contributors should therefore take a subordinate position to the audience and readership of the media.

If the dismissed employee therefore goes to the media with his story, it is the obligation of the paper or television crew to launch and investigation to substantiate the story. Pursuing the story merely on the merit of its sensationalist content would be unethical, although it would draw a greater audience. Once again, the interest of the audience and readership is of primary importance. It is therefore important that news teams, consisting of editors, reporters, researchers, photographers etc. work together to provide the best in quality and most timely news items possible. To cover up a story for the interest of a large business partner is then also unethical.

Furthermore it is important that codes of ethics be redrafted and discussed by all involved parties on a regular basis. This will help all persons involved in reporting to understand the codes and the associated obligations. The reporter mentioned above therefore acted as part of a team by bringing the matter to the editor before proceeding with the investigation or the report itself. Although time is of the essence in such a case, it is still important to pursue all avenues of investigation to verify all the facts. Not publishing the truth, even by mistake, can seriously harm a newspaper's credibility in the public eye.