Responsible journalism: principles and practice

Responsible Journalism

How the Press Covers the Most Important Events of Our Existence

The media of our society is a complex conglomerate. One can read newspapers and magazines with the click of a button, and access countless journals with unlimited information much the same way. Furthermore, there is that monster of an invention that feeds biased and, sometimes, useless information every single minute of every day: the television. If an observer saw the amount of information with which we are bombarded every day, he would surely marvel at our capacity to absorb anything at all, much less what is important. The way that the press covers important events, especially the written media, is vital to our understanding of the world. This paper will thus focus on what responsible journalism means, especially when related to humanitarian crises and other such life-changing events, but will also touch upon how the media covers various issues for its own benefit and profit in order to examine whether the media of our society is truly biased and whether it is conducting responsible journalism.

Introduction to Responsible Journalism

The concept of "responsible journalism" is somewhat difficult to pinpoint. To give it a definition, it may mean covering a certain event from a completely objective point-of-view. Another view would classify it as covering only important events that can influence and affect a society, so that society may be informed as to what to do in cases of distress. According to the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC), responsible journalism means:

"…not avoiding important issues and stories because they are difficult or complex […] producing regular and frequent coverage of these matters and [providing] programming to inform the public so that [it] can make [its] own judgments […] dealing with what is significant and important in society in the most serious minded sense of the words […] not just what is topical or titillating […] earning its authority and respect through its fairness, objectivity and sound investigative procedures and judgments." [1: "What Is Responsible Journalism?" Mediascape. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. . ]

This BBC definition encompasses various important facets of journalism and comprehensively lists the expectations of the people, which are certainly expectations of fair and objective, of responsible journalism. It is, therefore, one should hope, every journalist's aim to protect these goals and conduct responsible journalistic investigations and reports.

Journalism in Crisis-Prone Societies

Perhaps one area in which ethical, responsible journalism is vital is in countries where democracy is a fledgling concept. These societies, when they do suffer great disasters, be they natural or man-perpetrated, suffer most than Westernized, democratic societies, because often such societies are poor and do not have the infrastructure necessary into place. Thus, responsible journalism is essential to both get the word out to send these people help, and inform the world of their circumstances and hopefully propagate action.

However, responsible journalism is hard to find, especially when corruption is present. One such example is offered in an article about Ghana's journalists in a case examined by the privately owned and nationally distributed publication, the Ghanaian Chronicle. This case speaks about the irresponsible journalistic tendencies of some in Ghana, and led editors and journalists to express "disappointment at the growing irresponsible journalism practices among some practitioners in Ghana." The situation supposedly rose due to the government's failure to secure better salaries for media practitioners, according to the article. This monetary necessity to have a good living is a very common, very potent pressure that can lead one to place the responsibilities of ethical journalism aside in order to support oneself or one's family. Thus, it is important that if a journalist does his practice well, he is also able to make a living out of it and therefore focus on it. Though one may not think so, this can be the case in the United States as well, where the most important news are relegated to the big network, while the sensationalized news are usually found on local channels. Though this relationship is not always true, more will be discussed below. [2: "Journalists in northern Ghana condemn 'irresponsible journalism'." BBC Monitoring Africa. 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 25. Apr 2011. .]

Ghana is one nation in Africa that is much more open, especially politically than other nations. For example, in a neighboring country, Zimbabwe, media is ruled by the thumb of one man: Robert Mugabe. This individual is known to have a cult of personality around him and forbid any publication of an article that defames or criticizes him in any way. Journalists in this country must certainly find it hard to uphold responsible principles and evidence the crises the country is undergoing because they face horrendous punishments. Thus, it is important and in a way the responsibility of American or European journalists to publicize the problems in such countries, and thereby help change things in time to allow society to prosper freely.

News as Entertainment: Interactive yet Politicized

Often times, however, the U.S. media especially decides that the fate of the world does not rest in its hands and chooses, instead of news for informational purposes, news as entertainment (or irresponsible journalism), which can lead to many social harms, including blatant falsehoods or misinterpretations of world situations that can impact a society. Nobody can deny that news is entertainment when important world events are intermingled with local murders and dramatic or sensationalized events, and also with celebrity news. [3: Long, James. "Social Harm Caused by Irresponsible Journalism." James Long, Ph.D., P.E. Analog and RF Consulting Engineer. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. .]