Lecture Reflections: Lecture 8

Lecture 8: Ethics 

When we think about what guides us morally in our personal life, there are many factors that direct us to right and wrong. Fear of consequence, rationality, instinctive reactions and so on can all affect our decision making. Some people may see an angel or devil sitting on their shoulders or have a Jiminy Cricket character showing them the way, but what happens when our professional duty comes into play in the journalism and communication world where the “right thing” is not always the way our moral compass is guiding us go. 

Ethics fall into place in journalism and communication to help clarify situations that cross over our own boundaries but will ultimately serve the public’s best interests.  Within the industry there are theories of ethics and codes of practice that draw the lines between professional expectations and right and wrong. Some of these theories are as follows. 

Ethics Theories

 

Deontology

 

Deontology is a theory that practices rule following.  Deontologists say that if there is a rule that says whether something is right or wrong or principles that guide you, you can ultimately do the right thing ethically by following these rules

Consequentialism

 

Consequentialism uses a ‘greater good’ ideology to determine whether something is ethically acceptable.  It focuses on getting a ‘good’ or ‘right’ outcome despite how you might get there as the end justifying the means. Consequentialists say that it is the greatest good for the greatest numbers that matters, therefore if you make a decision solely based on the outcome for the greater good, it comes under consequentialism. 

Virtue Ethics 

 

Virtue ethics follows the Aristotelian system of ethics of Virtues and Vices. This theory works with a person’s own morals and asks of a situation ‘does it align with the type of person I want to be?’ Virtues such as courage, temperance, justice and prudence all go towards forming morally good habits in a person’s character that can then determine what is right and wrong. 

There are certain codes that media professionals subscribe to that provide guidelines to what is considered ethically correct. The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance is just one of many codes of ethics provided to journalists. As well as outlining their code of ethics on their website, they provide an excellent statement as to what the professional responsibilities of a journalist are in relation to ethics. 

Media Alliance Code of Ethics 

 

“Respect for truth and the public's right to information are fundamental principles of journalism. Journalists describe society to itself. They convey information, ideas and opinions, a privileged role. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, suggest and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy. They give a practical form to freedom of expression. Many journalists work in private enterprise, but all have these public responsibilities. They scrutinise power, but also exercise it, and should be accountable. Accountability engenders trust. Without trust, journalists do not fulfil their public responsibilities.” 

I find myself questioning not only a person’s individual codes of ethics but also larger corporation’s codes of ethics that can easily fall into conflict with bias and agendas. Advertising and commercial media that is advertising funded often have ethics in communication compromised because of their own best interests rather than the public’s best interests. Many a risqué advert has met controversy or been banned because it may offend or impose upon the public’s morals or ethics. Media watchdogs can keep an eye on the level of compromise made in order to reach out to the public when a topic is considered public interest, but where does public interest end and who decides what comes under this safety blanket?

One example that jumps to mind, although not solely a journalistic or media ethical conundrum, is the Wiki-leaks scandal. The information leaked on the site is claimed to be in the public interest which could be seen as falling under the consequentialism theory of ethics, as the divulging of this information serves the greater good. However this situation also contradicts national interest and national security for countries that had confidential government information made public.  Although moral codes and conscience may have won out for Julian Assange and Bradley Manning, from a media point of view the codes of ethics that other professionals follows were compromised.  This situation highlights that in some cases, codes of ethics do fail as there is some much room for concession in some situations.