Truth versus Harm
In the episode of “The Newsroom” season 1 episode 6, a presenter named Will McAvoy is conducting an interview with Sutton wall the deputy chief of staff of Rick Santorum who is running for presidency in the United States of America. Rick Santorum had previously made some remarks about homosexuality, saying that “homosexuality threatens him”. Sutton Wall being black and a gay man, still supports Rick Santorum, even if his views of homosexuality are against him. However, they both have common perspectives about abortion, and this is why Mr. Wall was on that show from the first place. Presenters have a set of codes of ethics that they need to follow, however did Mr. McAvoy obey these set of rules? “Ethics is conventionally understood as the work involved to discern “right” actions from wrong, it is more precisely a field of inquiry focused on examining the quality of our deliberations when dealing with moral dilemmas. It is about asking the “right” questions to best illuminate our duties and potential impacts on others (Plaisance, P. L, 2016).
The presenter Mr. McAvoy was quick to attack, quick to ignore, and did not act like a presenter is supposed to act according to the codes of ethics in Journalism. However, before we discuss what is ethical and non-ethical in Journalism, let’s notice the body language and facial expressions. Even if this was a normal conversation between two people, the body language and facial expressions can say a lot about their attitudes. Mr. Wall seems very calm, neutral and is listening, however the presenter is seen frowning, turning his face around, and is seen pointing his finger at him aggressively (view pictures for reference). Without understanding any codes of ethics whatsoever, any individual can judge that the presenter’s behavior is quite “not right” because of the way he is moving, reacting, tone of voice, facial expressions and many other aspects. As mentioned above, Mr. Wall was on this show in order to talk about his views on abortion that are common with Rick Santorum, however the presenter shifted the discussion in order to talk about an aspect that is more personal and hurtful, by mentioning that Mr. Wall himself is a homosexual individual and supports a man like Rick Santorum, a homophobe. Mr. Wall tries to shift the conversation to what really matters, however Mr. McAvoy constantly interrupts and redirects the conversation and ignores what he says. Ironically, In the previous episode, Mr. McAvoy had made a promise that he would present nothing but the truth and make room for other opinions other than his own. According to the Society of Professional Journalists (2014), Journalists must be careful when making promises, but also keep the promises they make. Mr. McAvoy did not keep his promise of “making room for other people’s opinion”, however, he did share the truth. Even though he was unethical in getting the truth out of Mr. Wall, but eventually he did get it out for the whole world. Oftentimes, people are pushed to be unethical in order to get out some truth out of people. So, in order to judge whether this situation is right or wrong, we need to look at two perspectives; The Deontological and the Utilitarian.
From a Deontological (Non-consequentialist theory), the presenter should do the “right” thing no matter what the consequences are. For instance, the presenter was pretty much Utilitarian, since he focused on the consequences regardless of his unethical behavior. Mr. McAvoy did not do the “right” thing, since he broke a series of journalism codes of ethics in order to achieve what he wants to achieve. According to the Society of Professional Journalists (2014), in order to be ethical, colleagues and members of the public must be treated with respect. From a Utilitarian point of view, his unethical behavior is justified, since at the end of the day, he was arguing and being unethical in his job in order to achieve an outcome that is good for the greatest amount of people. “Consequentialism seems an obvious viewpoint for ethics, since we are accustomed to considering consequences when we make decisions. However, it does not take much thought to realize that a stress on consequences, especially the maximization of the overall good, may lead us to unethical actions, or require us to ignore other values” (Ward, 2011). How is this a good outcome one might ask? To think of it from a different perspective, how can a homosexual man support someone who is against him, just because they agree on one aspect? Can’t Mr. Santorum’s presidency affect thousands of homosexuals and blacks? By Mr. Wall going on live Television and defending Mr. Santorum, he is actually harming millions of homosexuals and blacks in the United States of America.
For conclusion, I personally do think that the presenter could have done it in a different way by rephrasing his sentences. If he did not attack and actually listened more, provided freedom of speech on his show, distinguished between Mr. Wall’s personal life and his professional life, he would have gained more respect, and as a presenter, he would have been more credible. According to the Commissioner for Human Rights (2011), “ethical journalism is about constrained expression, not free expression. It is about professionals who impose self- restraint based upon respect for others and attachment to ethical principles”. I believe it is okay to push it a little far in order to get out the truth for the benefit of the greatest number of people, however, that could be achieved ethically and with respect without harming any individual.
References
Ethical Journalism and Human Rights. (2011). Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved from https://rm.coe.int/16806da54a.
Society of Professional Journalists. (2014, September 6). SPJ Code of Ethics. Retrieved from Society of Professional Journalists Web site: https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Ward, S. (2011). What is Ethics? from Ethics and The Media. Page 40. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Plaisance, P. L. (2016). Journalism Ethics. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.89
