Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Thus, the media hunted for items, building a case against Hatfill, in essence creating news rather than reporting it. Better balanced could have been easily provided by giving Hatfill and the FBI investigators more voice.
In order to prevent this from happening again, guidelines could be put into place. The first guideline would be to conduct an independent investigation into all details, including those gleaned from other news outlets. It should not be assumed that other news outlets are providing coverage of the highest integrity. Indeed, this guideline flows from the code of ethics: "expose unethical practices of journalists and news media."
Another guideline that could be implemented is that the outlet should not "create" news by digging up items of conjecture regarding the subject, but should rather report the findings of official investigations. In this case, this would involve reporting the FBI's official announcements on the issue.
If I was the editor of the paper, I would run the story. However, I would have more fully vetted the story and provided more balance to the coverage. That the FBI was investigating Hatfill was fact, but the coverage resulted in a number of distortions. I would like not have reported on Hatfill's name until it was officially confirmed by the...
This would deal with two of the main issues in this case -- that only Hatfill was named and that the tip came from a source whose motivations are unknown. The coverage in my paper would be guided more by official announcements from the investigators rather than anonymous postings on the Internet or the shoddy work of other media outlets.
The Hatfill story was newsworthy, so the story would need to be run. In doing so, however, the editor must resist the temptation to follow the sensationalistic path of the other media outlets. Only verified facts should be presented, and the primary source of details on the investigation should have been the FBI. If details were scarce, then that scarcity is what would be reported, rather than conjecture or unverified information. Balancing facts would need to be implemented, including the fact that Hatfill was just one of many scientists to be investigated and that he was part of a very long list of persons of interest, rather than a primary person of interest. In doing this, I would as editor be able to provide coverage while staying within the bounds of the code of ethics.
Works Cited:
Code of Ethics. (1996) Society of Professional Journalists. Retrieved September 29, 2009 from http://www.spj.org/pdf/ethicscode.pdf
Works Cited:
Code of Ethics. (1996) Society of Professional Journalists. Retrieved September 29, 2009 from http://www.spj.org/pdf/ethicscode.pdf
Professional Ethics Issue: The case where the professional ethics issue arises is a situation in which the commended obligation for journalists to safeguard the confidentiality of their sources conflict with their supposed duty to help legal authorities in the quest for justice. As a notable case, Time's Matthew Cooper and New York Times' Judith Miller are facing an ethical dilemma with two major options. First, these journalists are faced with the
That ethics has become so controversial reflects the individual nature of ethics. Each individual choice is imbued with certain ethical assumptions, but those assumptions will vary from person to person. Only when those assumptions are shared by a large enough segment of society do they become norms. For the individual, the choice often becomes the decision between one's personal code of ethics and that of society as a whole. Even the
Furthermore, the date of the photograph is illustrative: the city had been submerged for days, and federal disaster relief in the form of food and other types of assistance had not yet arrived. The food would have spoiled had it not been consumed, given that the electricity of the city was not functioning. Just like a print journalist, a photographer has the responsibility to consider the larger social history of
Media's Role in the BTK Killer Case There have been several serial murder cases which feature killers who play with the attention of the public through their manipulation of the media for various reasons. However, with the actual publication of messages supposedly from mass murderers, the ethical role of the media is put to the test. Many believe that publishing these messages increases the chances of catching the murderer in
Ethics of Sustainable Design How much water do I use in a day? How much electricity do I use daily? What other resources do I count on and consume each day, like gasoline, food, paper products, ink, and other materials? This paper is a fine way for me to begin to catalogue those materials. This introduction is presented because looking back on a 24-hour period of time and the amount of
Wikileaks Ethics issues raised by the conduct of the American government in dealing with Wikileaks and Assange The behavior of the American government towards Wikileaks raises serious ethical issues related to government intimidation of the private company. The founder of Wikileaks has also experienced a great deal of harassment in light of the Wikileaks scandal which has called into question the integrity of the American government in pursuing justice through means that