Assignment 2: Truth versus Harm

The core principles of journalism ethics are :

-Truth and Accuracy

Journalists cannot always guarantee ‘truth’, but getting the facts right is the cardinal principle of journalism. We should always strive for accuracy, give all the relevant facts we have and ensure that they have been checked. When we cannot corroborate information we should say so.

-Independence

Journalists must be independent voices; we should not act, formally or informally, on behalf of special interests whether political, corporate or cultural. We should declare to our editors — or the audience — any of our political affiliations, financial arrangements or other personal information that might constitute a conflict of interest.

-Fairness and Impartiality

Most stories have at least two sides. While there is no obligation to present every side in every piece, stories should be balanced and add context. Objectivity is not always possible, and may not always be desirable (in the face for example of brutality or inhumanity), but impartial reporting builds trust and confidence.

In this interview, Will tells all of this to his psychiatrist, feeling guilty that he set the events in motion that led to Sloan’s suspension. Then a slip of the tongue leads to the discovery that he doesn’t just feel bad about Sloan — he feels even worse about a black, gay Temple professor who is working for Rick Santorum, whom Will humiliated on air to make a point about Santorum’s intolerance. The professor fights back, yelling “I am more than one thing” (he is also an anti-abortion zealot) but Will still looks like a bully for pushing him as far as he did. This is called racism because he didn’t respect his status, he could’ve done it in a different way, more polite way that wouldn’t have humiliated him in front of everyone. A consequentialist theory judges the rightness or wrongness of an action based on the consequences that action has. The most familiar example would be utilitarianism — ``that action is best that produces the greatest good for the greatest number’’ in this case he didn’t do so.