Ethics are a major issue in journalism. Why else would we have entire courses dedicated to teaching ways to make responsible, ethical decisions in the field? Fortunately, at Penn State, we are given ample resources and opportunities to explore morals and proper decency within the realm of communications.
Wesley Lowery, writer for The Washington Post, and Lisa Falkenberg, columnist for the Houston Chronicle, recently came to the university to describe their experiences in ethical decision making.
Lowery reports on the “Black Lives Matter” movement and spoke to the audience about his background as an African American in his profession. I was particularly interested in his comments regarding police handling individuals with serious mental issues, and his remarks about biases in journalism.
Falkenberg writes columns and tries to make each of her stories relatable for her readers. I was deeply attentive during her recount of a grand jury in Texas urging a woman to “tell the truth” for her kids’ sake. Falkenberg gave her opinions on that largely inappropriate encounter and her ethical responsibilities as a columnist.
When Lowery was asked about how he deals with police shootings, he was able to give a variety of answers rather than just focusing on the racial dilemma. Throughout this semester, we’ve been taught the importance of applying ethics to more than just decisions on whether to include a certain topic in our stories. We’ve learned how to steer clear of conflict of interests, including civic activities, relationships with sources, or personal relationships, how to uphold ethical standards in photojournalism by keeping original photos without manipulation while keeping in mind the reputation of individuals’, and how to remain in true journalistic form by serving the members of society in truth-telling and seeking.
During his Foster-Foreman Lecture, Lowery had comments for police when dealing with people who have serious mental issues. He said, “you should not pull your guns and yell at them,” which I agree with. Is this necessarily an important ethical issue? Maybe, maybe not. As a trained journalist with a strong morality, Lowery recognizes that ethics go beyond journalists’ written words. It’s important for journalists to see moral opportunities within everyday life. I think it helps us to have better trust as their readers.
Specifically, bias is related to this important topic. Lowery commented, “Everyone has biases. We have to know what they are and go from there.” He goes on to explain how the job of a journalist is to decipher information. We are not allowed to overlay our own thoughts and opinions on this information.
Sally Lehrman, senior fellow in digital journalism at Santa Clara University, wrote an article about racism and diverse sources. She says, “journalists have a responsibility to do more than report on the latest news developments, relying on whatever sources are handy. We should weave a web of information that ties people together across the demographic spectrum, supporting everyone’s involvement in the democratic process” (Lehrman, 2015, p. 31). Lehrman shows how critical it is for journalists to remain impartial and to treat each article and source with neutrality.
Relating to Falkenberg’s lecture, she said she takes all of the facts and tells people what to do with them. I don’t necessarily agree with her. I don’t think it’s a journalist’s duty to “tell” readers what to do with information. I think a journalist’s job is to simply state the facts.
I found an article written by Mike about his fellow reporter who was targeted in a sting operation by police. He writes, “… cops have convinced the public their actions were entirely justified” (Jenkinson, 2007, p. 9). After Jenkinson wrote this article, the public wasn’t worried about the ethics of the cops, but rather they accused Jenkinson of making up the entire story. This story further proves my point about journalists “stating the facts.”
After Lowery and Falkenberg’s lectures, I feel I have a better understanding of applying ethics to a broad range of scenarios. I believe readers trust journalists to a greater degree when sound, moral decisions and practices are evident in their reporting. I hope to uphold these righteous decisions in my future career, even if it isn’t in journalism.
References:
Jenkinson, M. (2007). The Controversy that won’t go Away. Media, 13(1), p. 8-9.
Lehrman, S. (2015). Weave a Web of Diverse Sources. 103(2), p. 31.