Blog #3
Bill Marimow gave students a great speech on what journalists should do when facing ethical problems. He shared personal experiences with students in how he deals with his ethical dilemmas. Being a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Marimow mentioned several important rules that he keeps in mind and wants students also to remember.
The first rule he mentioned is that whenever there is a situation where is hard to make a decision, go talk to the senior editor. If the editor’s advice still makes you hesitate about the decision, go talk to another mentor. He gave an example of reporting a story about pilots in Philadelphia airport had been laid off. He interviewed a family and had everything he wanted to finish the story. However, when he wanted the photographer to take a picture of the family, the family didn’t want their real name and photo to show on the newspaper. He faced the dilemma whether to use the sources’ information, or to protect the privacy of a private innocent family. His senior editor suggested that it’s ok for him to use the information, but he still hesitates about making the decision. As a result, he rushed to find another source at 3 a.m. before to turn in the story.
It’s very inspiring that even though his senior editor gave him a permission to use the information of the family, he still stood on the side of the family and tried to figure another way out. Our media, it’s like a magnifier to ordinary people. It can bring many unexpected attentions from our society to individual people. If journalists do not protect their source, the news can negatively affect their sources. I agree that journalist should always protect the source’s privacy. Also at the same time, they should have a backup plan in mind.
Ginny Whitehouse published her journal, New Gathering and Privacy, in which she said: “The ethical right to privacy actually precedes the legal right because it inherently is embedded in the relationship between the individual and the community.” (Whitehouse, 2010) what she indicates is that even though it’s legal for journalists to make a decision, but journalist should also put the moral right first.
Marimow also enforced that when dealing with private people, journalists should be sensitive, careful and thoughtful about their feelings. And he believes that journalist should always stand at the side of privates. He talked in depth about how to protect the kids and teenagers. Their personal information should be well considered before putting them into the news story, whether they are victims or criminals. Marimow gave an example that he has a story about a 10-year-old boy involved in drug dealing. Generally, newspapers use the full name of the criminals, regardless of their age. However, since the boy is too young, he decided not to use his full name. When he selected a photo, he chose the one in which the boy was in the shadow. In another case, a 5-year-old girl was kidnapped, and her name and photos are spreaded all over the city. Two days later, she has been found, and was believed to be assaulted. So after Marimow realized that there was a chance for her had been assaulted before, he decided not to use her name and photo any more. Marimow said he believes the newspaper should never name victims of an assailant.
I think it’s very important for journalists to consider different cases in different ways. Rules, such as using the full name of criminals, are dead. However, journalists should consider each case differently; maybe there is an exception.
Whitehouse mentioned in her journal that the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has introduced an ethical code on children in 1996, which calls for compassion and sensitivity when working with children, those grieving, and those unaccustomed to being in the spotlight. Similarly the Radio Television Digital News Association’s code also requires “special care” in coverage of children, and notes that they deserve greater privacy than adults. (Whitehouse, 2010)
At the very end of the conference, Marimow also gave students some advice on using the multi-media. He said that journalists should not only be good at print, but should also be good at blogging, twittering. Journalists nowadays need to be god at using iPhone, iPad and all the other new technologies.
In the article, Information Ethics as a Guide for New Media, Edward H. and Aaron Quinn mentioned the same thing in their studies: “Many other forms of news media offer online content as well, such as the glut of online publications that complement traditional radio and television news. Small electronic devices such as camcorders, laptops and cell phones allow traditional and nontraditional journalists to capture and disseminate news in ways that traditional news gathering methods cannot.” (Spence& Quinn, 2008).
Even though this is not an ethical issue, I think it’s a crucial point for journalists to keep in mind in our fast developing media system.
Reference:
Kaye, B. K. (2005). It’s a Blog, Blog, Blog World: Users and Uses of Weblogs. Atlantic Journal Of Communication, 13(2), 73-95. doi:10.1207/s15456889ajc1302_2
Spence, E. H., & Quinn, A. (2008). Information Ethics as a Guide for New Media. Journal Of Mass Media Ethics, 23(4), 264-279. doi:10.1080/08900520802490889
Whitehouse, G. (2010). Newsgathering and Privacy: Expanding Ethics Codes to Reflect Change in the Digital Media Age. Journal Of Mass Media Ethics, 25(4), 310-327. doi:10.1080/08900523.2010.512827