Yes? No? Maybe?
Mashable had an interesting article last week about the 8 Must-Have Traits of Tomorrow’s Journalist. The post focused heavily on the importance of being more than just a journalist. Tomorrow’s journalists will have to be journalists/programmers/photographers/videographers/designers/social media experts and more, and this Mashable article is just another one driving that point home.
There is one thing I would add to this list of must-haves – a rock solid sense of ethics.
In today’s world of breaking news on twitter and citizen journalism, information may no longer go through an editorial process before reaching the public. While instant access to information as it is happening can be a great thing, it can also change the dynamics of traditional journalism ethics when it comes to reporting.
Tiger Woods coverage aside, a recent example of this is the case of Tearah Moore, a solider from Michigan who tweeted during the shooting at Fort Hood. Tech Crunch has a great article about Moore and what her situation means for citizen journalism.
While this blog is for (hopefully/aspiring) professional journalists, not citizen journalists, it still remains that you have the same opportunity to publish breaking news, and the reality is you are competing with these citizen journalists to remain relevant to readers.
It can be difficult sometimes for a journalist to keep ethics in mind when they are working with a piece of breaking news content – and this will only become more difficult for tomorrow’s journalist.
The best way to act ethically in a difficult situation is to think about what you will do before it actually happens.
- Establish your priorities – Decide now what is most important to you: being first, or being right. If you’re the type that would rather ask for forgiveness than permission, that’s OK, just be prepared to accept whatever consequences may come from that.
- See what others have to say – The Society of Professional Journalists has an entire section of the website devoted to ethics. It’s an excellent resource when you find yourself in a questionable situation, and even has an Ethics Hotline where you can get advice or just talk about what’s going on. You can also look to your mentors for advice. We had a saying in the Chronicle newsroom – ‘What Would Cailin Do?’ - in reference to our faculty adviser whenever we were facing a tough decision.
- Think hypothetically – I took a Media Ethics class last year, and 80% of the class involved reading/discussing hypothetical ethical situations and working through what we might do, as well as what the possible impacts would be of our decision. While we didn’t always arrive at a good solution, it helped me practice thinking ethically, and makes it easier for me to work through potential problems as a journalist now.
- Get it in writing – When you are able to establish definitive ethical guidelines, write them down. It gives you something to reference when you’re questioning whether or not to tweet that sensitive piece of information you overheard. If you work at a publication, ask what ethical guidelines they have in place.
While it might seem like the role of ethics in journalism is dwindling, it is imperative that “tomorrow’s journalists” keep ethics in journalism for it to maintain any sense of reliability. What role do ethics play in your newsroom? Have any journalists out there faced an ethical dilemma? What was the end result?
[...] (and references the infamous Twitter reports after the Fort Hood shooting, which I wrote about here) and the importance of — say it with me — formal, written protocols for action if a problem [...]