Writer’s Blog 9: Thinking about News Ethics
As hard as it may be, let’s face it; American journalists have a drastic difference in opinion on the importance and credibility of their jobs than the public and leaders they serve and cover. Put simply, the external world doesn’t like journalists. The public thinks they are no more trustworthy than the politicians who advertise false promises or congressmen who don’t speak up for their district. Roughly 52% of the American public have ‘not too much’ or ‘no confidence at all’ in journalists’ ability to prioritize the public interest (Pew Research Center, 2020). Yet journalists refuse to believe this cold-hearted truth, which only creates more of a problem. By fighting back with the ideas of the public, journalists only enhance that negative image for themselves.
Most journalists consider their work a public service or something they do for the greater good of society. Everyone deserves to know what is happening across the globe and in their own communities. Whenever that work is seen as unethical or wrong, it’s easy to be defensive and get upset. As an aspiring journalist, it is perfectly understandable to see why these current reporters get so flustered, burnt out, and angry. What’s important to remember is these negative associations Americans have with the news media are only applicable to certain publications and writers (Mayer, 2020).
We now live in a society that is extremely polarized politically, and these attitudes reflect themselves on the news outlets. The problem is that only some of these news outlets encourage this polarization, thus this negative association is applied to the news industry as a whole, which is false. Stations like FOX News lean to the right, whereas publications like the Daily Beast lean to the left, showing the extremes of both sides and encouraging media bias (Media Bias Chart, 2023). These stations still hold some credibility and reliability, but the partisan opinions sprinkled in show how media bias and distrust of journalists can settle in. Not everyone can correct errors at the drop of a hat, and not everyone cares about their sources, can label and be transparent about their opinions, or explain where the money came from. Trust in the media should not be an industry-wide battle, rather, each individual journalist must make a name for themselves that shows their credibility and trustworthiness on a personal level to their readers.
It is more important now than ever before that in this age of digital convergence journalists are transparent and upfront about their own ethics, values, mission, and processes when writing or delivering a story. There is no way to convince every American citizen that journalists do have their own personal values, but by making your own public, labeling stories correctly, and being as transparent as possible you’ll grow your own audience and credibility in the media. Bit by bit, the public may come around and understand that journalists are human too. There will always be mistakes, but the ability to fix mistakes, explain why, and move on, makes you a better journalist. Validate the public’s skepticism or fears, then show them and prove to them why they can and should trust your work (Mayer, 2020).
There’s no right answer to fixing people’s opinions about the news other than it’s an individual task, not an industry-wide one. By explaining your own individual values and morals, you build back ethical values and trust in the industry. It won’t happen overnight, but by working harder each and every day to deliver news that is fair, ethical, valuable, and accurate the news may begin to go back to the way it was and the harm of political polarization will dissolve. The job of the journalist is not to defend the entire industry, it’s to show what makes their work credible and trustworthy in the sea of information we swim in daily.
