I attended the “Integrity in Times of Crisis” lecture in the HUB Auditorium on February 25, at 7:30 pm. The speakers were: Steve Manuel (Senior Lecturer in Public Relations), Jim Lukaszewski (Crisis Communications Group member), and Genaro Armas (Associate Press Reporter). All three speakers brought up important and interesting ethical dilemmas regarding integrity in times of crisis.
In my opinion, the two most important topics talked about during the discussion were: One, journalists who lack ethical values and try to protect him or herself or the company they work for, instead of the victim, only hurt the victim more. Two, “We don’t live in an ethical democracy, we live in an economical one.” – Jim Lukaszewski. Therefore, it is naturally difficult to be ethical.
As for number 1, I think it’s important for journalists to realize how much power is involved in the profession. It is extremely easy for a journalist to tarnish someone’s reputation purposefully, and even accidentally. During the speech, Jim Lukaszewski mentioned that, “silence is toxic,” and I completely agree. The next day, the situation is only going to get worse. Why not just tell right away, to avoid even more, unnecessary controversy? If a journalist knows that someone has been or is being victimized, it is his or her responsibility to tell someone who can fix it! If a journalist waits in denial, they are only prolonging the problem, which can cause even more harm. Essentially, the longer you wait, the more the problem worsens. When the problem worsens, it’s even harder to fix, and it makes you look bad!
In my opinion, number 2 is related to number 1 because it explains why journalists engage in unethical behavior. We live in a world that appreciates money more than respect, so it is naturally difficult for people to stick to their ethical values sometimes. For example, journalists may very well be more interested in creating/writing an excellent story, more so than how they could be affecting a victim. We saw how this went down in the Steven Glass case, and I think this probably runs more rampant than we think. Journalists work in extremely competitive markets, where everything is due yesterday. (McNair, 2009) It really is sad that we live in a world that prioritizes money and success over feelings and relationship building. But, what can you do? It is what it is.
In an article written by Andrew Stronach, planning for the worst situation possible in times of crisis, can help with preventing crises from worsening. (Stronach, 2008) Jim also brought up a list of reactions that journalists may have when they are initially confronted or exposed to crises, and I think they are very accurate. He thinks it is “Our job to break these habits” and avoid the following:
- Denial- “We won’t do anything until we find out more.”
- Victim confusion- “It could hurt the institution if we tell.”
- Testosterrosas- We get mad when bad things happen, so we want lash out at someone else. This isn’t good.
- The search for the guilty- Journalists think: Let’s wrap this up as soon as possible without telling anyone. This makes you extremely guilty.
- Whining- Management by whining around isn’t the right approach. It’s annoying, and doesn’t solve anything!
As for a solution, I’m not sure that there is one. It would be extremely difficult to change the minds of journalists who engage in unethical behavior. To start, educating journalists before and even after they enter their professions would definitely help. This course is an example of how journalists can be educated on ethics. Secondly, it depends on the person. Some people just cannot help themselves. They strive for the wrong things, and this causes problems! Insensitive people are a part of this list. During the speech Jim Lukaszewski said, “What did your mother teach you?” I think this calls close to home to many people because we all know that our parents tried to instill great morals, values, and principles inside of us all of our lives. If a journalist could put this into perspective during times of crises, this could help!
I also thought that Jim Lukaszewski brought up great solutions to these kinds of problems (obviously Jim was my favorite speaker! J) He stated the following, as steps to avoid worsening situations in times of crises. I also think he intended to list these as ways to avoid crises:
- Stop the production of victims- by telling right away.
- Work with the victims- by finding out the truth.
- Talk to your employees- about what you find out.
- People are always affected by these circumstances that need to be notified- so tell!
- Self-appointed, sell anointed- You’ve only got 60-80 minutes to do all of this. If you’re ethical/ want to remain so, do so! These are all questions that you’re going to be asked, and if you don’t do it now, it will embarrass you later!
I think this is a great approach; however, I think it essentially depends on the integrity of the journalist. Each person is different, and not everybody is going to follow this approach. All in all, I enjoyed the speech, as it taught me a lot about solutions that journalists could potentially use to cure suffering victims in times of crises. I also think these are approaches that journalists could utilize when they, themselves are involved in controversy. Jim Lukaszewski offered lots of good information to training journalists, and I will hold this information close to me for the duration of my career.
References
McNair, B. (2009). Trust me, I’m a journalist: Shattered glass and the crisis of trust in liberal journalism. EBSCOhost, 6. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&sid=3c783aa6-d29d-44b4-b60c-67f0b51f493d@sessionmgr104&hid=126&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ
Stronach, A. (2008). A case study in crisis management: How planning for the worst can help protect reputational integrity and restore operational effectiveness. EBSCOhost, 1(4), 12. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&sid=c77caa19-f380-41cb-aef8-198db45fffca@sessionmgr112&hid=11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ