"Everybody's a (media] critic,,, these days, to paraphrase W.C. Fields. While it's easy to fault the news media's handling of issues, it's more difficult to solve the problem of media ethics. The writers of the Con- stitution believed so strongly in the necessity of a free press that they encoded it in the First Amendment; Thomas Jefferson clearly stated his support of the press in a 1787 letter. "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or news- paper without a government," Jefferson wrote, "I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter" ("Newspapers").

But does the press have a responsibility to censor itself as it deter- mines what constitutes "news"? It often does, refusing in the 1960s to report on JFK's sexual liaisons, and more recently and perhaps less willingly, submitting its reports during the Persian Gulf War to mili- tary public relations officers before filing them. Where does the public's "right to know" end, and the individual's "right to privacy" or the government's concern with national security begin? When is a rumor or allegation worthy of reporting? How should these things be reported? These are questions journalists frequently wrestle with in their quests to produce the daily newspaper.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines ethics generally as "the moral quality of a course of action; fitness; propriety" ("Ethics"). Deline- ating journalistic rules of conduct is a tricky proposition, as journal- ism professor H. Eugene Goodwin makes clear:
 

What is needed [in journalism] is a set of principles. . .  that serves the public by aggressively seeking and reporting the closest possible truth about events and conditions of concern to people, a journalism that collects and deals with information honestly and fairly, and treats the people involved with compassion, a jour- nalism that conscientiously interprets and explains the news so that it makes sense to people. (cover)
 

Where once newspapers embodied cultural values, they now seem mired in a tabloid culture that gorges itself on sleaze . . . .Where once newspapers helped turn the country against an unjust war, they now are jeered for daring to question a wildly popular war. Where once newspapers were on the front lines in exposing official corruption, they now bring up the rear, more concerned with accommodating power than challenging it. (7-8)

Readers, as well as journalists, have a responsbility in producing media ethics. One of the fundamental tenets of journalistic ethics is that reporters should be objective, striving to present both sides of an issue. However, to be informed, educated readers, it's important for us to understand that news is written and produced by human beings who make decisions about what's important and what's not as they write and edit news stories. It becomes OUR responsibility to recognize this subjec- tivity as both a strength (it enables reporters to "humanize,, facts and make them relevant to us) and a limitation of a free press. We must read carefully, thoughtfully, and critically (in the academic sense of the word), and be fully aware of the power the news media exercise in the presentation of information.

Sources:

"Ethics." American Heritage Dictionary. 1979 ed.

Goodwin, H. Eugene. Groping for Ethics in Journalism. Ames: Iowa State UP, 1983.

Kurtz, Howard. Media Circus. New York: Random House, 1993.

"Newspapers." Respectfully Quoted. Ed. Suzy Platt. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1992.

In past exams, students who planned writing strategies did a better job on the final. You may wish to brainstorm and prewrite to generate material for your essay. You may bring into the exam one 31' by 5" notecard containing outlines, thesis statements, or notes. You may also bring this test packet, a dictionary, and a thesaurus. Computerized sections may write on computer.

During the final exam period, you will be assigned two of the following topics and allowed to choose one of the two. Write a well-developed, multiple-paragraph essay which responds to the topics. Your response should reflect familiarity with the source materials in the packet. Make sure that your essay addresses the issue raised and follows the organizational pattern specified.
 

1. Explain an influence (or influences) on professional journalists that would affect their writing/publishing decisions. (Thesis developed by cause and effect)
2. Classify news stories according to the kinds of ethical questions they raise. (Thesis developed by classification)
3. Compare or contrast the ethical implications of publishing the two war photos (A and B) in the packet. (Thesis developed by comparison)
4. "All the news that's fit to print" is the slogan of the New York Times. The slogan may be interpreted as an ethical restraint on the press, or it may imply that all news is fair game. Support either interpretation with reasoning and examples. (Thesis developed by examples).

     Columbia Journalism Review Nov.-Dec. 1991: 41+ SIRS CD-ROM. Ed. Eleanor Goldstein. Boca Raton, FL: 

     Social Issues Resource Ser., 1992. Communication 1991 File, Art. 39.

Elliott, Deni.  "How to handle suicide threats." Fineline: The Newsletter on Journalism Ethics October 1989: 1, 8.

Ericson, Richard V., Patricia M. Baranek, and Janet B. L. Chan.  Negotiating Control: A Study of News Sources.  

     Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1989.

--John Sweeney.  "Media's Quandary: Naming Rape Victims." [Wilmington, Del.] News Journal. 13 Apr. 1991: 

     A1+. SIRS DC-ROM. Ed. Eleanor Goldstein. Boca Raton, FL: Social Issues Resource Ser., 1992. Privacy 

     1991 File, Art. 66.

Goodwin, H. Eugene. Groping for Ethics in Journalism. Ames: Iowas State UP, 1983: 9.

Hubbell, Sue. "Rare. . ." Smithsonian October 1993: 72.

Hughes, Robin, ed. " 'A photo that had to be used'  Anatomy of a newspaper's decision." Fineline. October 1989: 3.

Kurtz, Howard. Media Circus. New York: Random House, 1993: 120.

--Randy Shilts. "The Practice of  'Outing" Gays." The Las Vegas Review-Journal.  11 August 1991: 1D.  SIRS 

     CD-ROM. Ed. Eleanor Goldstein. Boca Raton, FL: Social Issues Resource Ser., 1992. Privacy 1991 File, Art. 76.