Deception in journalism
Situation Definition:
In the case involving Brian Williams, a NBC nightly news anchor/journalist, he got caught lying about a lot of his stories that he covered in Iraq and other places. The two main issues that stand out to me is the fact that Williams deceived and fabricated his news stories and his lack of transparency and accountability to him and the viewers. Those two things are at the catalyst of news ethics and what we have been discussing all semester. If one loses credibility over deception and accountability it can be hard to come back from. Mostly because the viewers will not trust you as a source any longer. The number one thing a journalist must protect is its credibility with their audience.
That’s the most important part. Williams repeatedly lied about numerous events in the stories he would cover just to put them ‘over the top’ so to speak. He then decided to deny the claims that were brought against him for a period of time until further evidence surfaced. At that point he has to realize that he is not being transparent with his audience. As a journalist you have to put yourself in the viewers shoes to understand how they feel. Both of these things are strong ethical messages.
Analysis:
What happened to Brian Williams was damaging to him and his audience as I read in the journal ‘Why journalists lie: The troublesome times for Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass and Brian Williams’ “Engel and Bertrand (2015) observed that he was the 23rd most trusted person in America. But, in February 2015, Williams became the 835th most trusted person (p. 1).” This ties exactly in with what we discussed in class about what happens when the public finds out that you have been deceiving them. No matter who you are or how long you’ve been trusted, it can all go away within seconds. As a journalist, we have a responsibility to seek the truth and report it, not fabricate it in any way to get the story to sound better. That is what Williams failed to do.
What he did is equivalent to a journalist taking a photo and then adding or cropping something out of the picture. As we discussed in class that is deception and is not tolerated in the news room. As I read a journal ‘Brian Williams ethical lapse hurts us all’ the author stated “I can’t predict what will happen to him or his employer, but I hope that all journalists and media organizations will take a moment to remind themselves how valuable our credibility is.” This is hitting it home on this entire case. One of the most important things to consider is our credibility as journalists and that also ties into be accountable and telling the truth.
We as journalists, have the duty of serving the public citizens. If they don’t trust us with telling them the truth, we will have failed as journalists. In situations like this, I believe the only thing to do is stay true to what exactly happened in all of the stories. Even if it means it won’t be a juicy. It’s better to have an average story than to lose all credibility for your work. It can be hard to get it back, no matter who you are or how prestigious you might be.
One thing we harped on in class is maybe deceiving your sources but never your audience. The audience is all to be told the truth no matter what. The SPJ decided to not say anything about the Brain Williams case because they felt that the codes of ethics are guidelines to follow and they do not comment on newsrooms. That includes being accountable. In a journal ‘Be accountable to your public’ it said “One amazing detail to emerge from Jayson Blair’s reign of plagiarism and fabrication at The New York Times was how disconnected readers and sources said they felt. Even after sources quoted in Blair’s articles read made-up facts about themselves and manufactured quotes they never uttered, they didn’t alert the newspaper; they felt no one would listen.”
Things like that is show how much the reader is affected by journalists decisions to deceive the public. As much as I would love, personally, to have a wonderful story to tell to the public. I must be honest with them about what happened because it’s my duty. That is how I would look at it.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, I have learned a lot of things form this case alone. I learned that it is always better to tell the truth when reporting a story than to fabricate it because one, it’s my duty. Two, it will always come back to bite you. From Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair and now Brian Williams, I have seen that. You not only lose trust, but you may even lose your career.
These types of issues are very important to discuss because all journalists should know and be aware of the reach and effect they have on the public. From what you say and do, the public looks at us as the ultimate truth tellers. We have to remember our obligations when it comes to this. We must learn from the mistakes of others so we do not repeat them in the future. For the good of the news and more importantly, the public.
References:
SPURLOCK, J. (2016). WHY JOURNALISTS LIE: THE TROUBLESOME TIMES FOR JANET COOKE, STEPHEN GLASS, JAYSON BLAIR, AND BRIAN WILLIAMS. ETC: A Review Of General Semantics, 73(1), 71-76.
NEUTS, D. (2015). Brian Williams’ ehtical lapse hurts us all. Quill, 103(2), 3.
Schotz, A. (2009). Be accountable to your public. Quill, 97(1), 31.