As a broadcasting major, I value the importance of reporting the absolute truth to an audience. Specifically, a reporter must never use deception for the purpose of creating a story. First you must understand the definition of deception, which is sending messages intended to make others believe what ourselves do not believe. This unethical practice primarily occurs for making an uninteresting story interesting, or to invent a story to attract a large audience. Although deception mainly takes the form of spoken lies, it can also occur through gesture, disguise, by means of action or inaction, and silence. It’s quite unnerving for society who depends on news stations for the truth, as there are many possibilities for deception to occur. However, there is one morally justified reason to use deception, which is if deception is the only way to reveal a vital truth. Other than that, a journalist must never deceive the audience and their colleagues. If you deceive and audience, all the trust they have of you will diminish, and they may never believe you again. Being trusted by your colleagues is vital in regards to being effective, and it’s certain that you will lose your position as a journalist if you deceive your boss and peers. A case study that shows this is the Brian Williams incident. For years, Williams was greatly respected and trusted as a reporter. But immediately after it was discovered that he used deception to create a story about how his helicopter was shot at, he was suspended and lost a lot of his credibility. This was my favorite case study because it shows how influential reporters are and the importance of always sticking to the truth.
Despite what has just been stated, using deception to gather information is morally right, which I will explain through numerous examples from Bob Steele’s checklist. When the info obtained is of profound importance, deception is justified, as long the information is of vital public interest and it must prevent profound harm to individuals. If all other alternatives of gathering information have been exhausted, using deception is an ethical decision. If you are willing to disclose the nature of the deception and the reason for it, then it’s acceptable to use deception. Also, as long as you and your news organization pursue a story fully through applied excellence and outstanding craftsmanship, then using deception to gather information is justified.
Being a broadcasting major, I am primarily focused on being able to report in front of the camera. But it’s very important to realize that there are many ethics in journalism that must be followed to be a successful reporter. With that said, this course has provided me with crucial information that I will carry over to the work place. Going into this course, I thought it would all be common sense and a waste of time. However, the information that I have learned has proved me wrong, as there are many things to be aware of when reporting news.