Journalism Should Not Be Just a Trade, It Should Be a Crusade - Essay Example

?Journalists have a moral responsibility to stand up for the weak against the powerful within a society Introduction "The primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing" (Kovach and Rosenstiel, 2007, pp. 12). Journalism is an integral part of democracy, since the latter is dependent on the degree of free, accurate and reliable information available. According to the theory of democracy, an informed citizenry is essential, in order to create a strong society. As we all know, information is power, and if this power is concentrated into the hands of only a few, may lead to inappropriate handling or abuse of the power. It is for this reason, shared power is a safer option for the benefit of the entire society, and it is here that the journalists play the important role of redistributing this power of information. Since journalists have the task of redistributing information, in the process, they may partake in some of the power which is associated with information, and it is here that the role of ethics and responsibilities comes into play. Ethics is a form of commitment where one pledges not to abuse power, and to use the accorded freedom with responsibility, which is never an easy task. There is always an underlying tension between the ethics of freedom and responsibility. Here the dynamics between these two contending ethical factors in respect to an individual or a society can be divided into two main perspectives. The libertarian perspective (of the Enlightenment era), gives more emphasis on the freedom of an individual or the rational being. This perspective has been always prevalent in the US form of journalism, where the press has been accorded complete freedom, at least theoretically. The other view is the communitarian perspective, which emphasises on establishing social or community connections, with certain responsibilities on both sides, which was clearly outlined in the Hutchins Commission on Freedom of the Press published in 1947. The report brought in the theory of ‘social responsibility,’ where the press was said to be under moral obligations to work for the general well being of the society; and the modern concept of ‘civic journalism movement’ was formed, based on these guidelines as given in the Commission (Nerone, 1995, 77-100). In this article, I will examine the various theories of journalism, and will analyse, to come to a conclusion as to whether the journalists should have a moral responsibility to stand up for the weak against the powerful within a society? Discussion Ethics and journalism: Ethics is the process of analysing and evaluating certain facts and situations, and identifying the correct conduct in the light of the various principles and the prevalent social and religious norms of a particular time. Here the basic question does not simply end at asking as to how one can live well, but also puts in the question as to how one should live by the rules of one’s ethics, while foregoing some of the personal advantages, and even face persecution, as he carries on with his ethical duties. Ethical reasoning is often based on personal interpretations, as one examines and changes his principles, in view of the available new types of information and technology, and new social conditions (Ward, 2007). Ethics thus encompasses both the aspects of theoretical and one’s personal practical reasoning. As regards theoretical reasoning, ethics is the study of the various existing forms of ethics, and the types of prevalent ethical reasoning, and of the neutrality of the moral/ ethical principles. In case of practical reasoning, ethics is “applied ethics,” or the application of the ethical principles to check their suitability in the various dimensions of life domains like while dealing with scientific research, professional work, and also in corporate governance (Dimock & Tucker, 2004). Journalism is a type of ‘applied ethics,’ which involves the analysis and the application of suitable ethical principles in one’s professional work. Journalism ethics thus involves exploration of the “micro” problems, that is, what an individual journalist should do in certain situations, and the study of “macro” problems as to what the collective news media should do, while taking care of their social responsibilities. The practice of journalism as against the question of circumspection or tradition, is based on an ethical questioning, where its conduct is scrutinised in the light of being able to serve certain basic public purposes, or fulfilling social responsibilities. The objectives of journalism from historical records show us that it always involved information dissemination; analysing the present situations; interpreting current events; keeping a hawk’s eye on the people enjoying political/social power; to demanding changes in the system that would benefit the common people of a country; advocating for welfare causes; and manoeuvring public opinion by educating and empowering them with correct information and factual data, as regards the functioning of the country’s political and social order, thus, serving the country as a whole. So, we find that journalism entails not only reporting a set of correctly analysed and interpreted data, but also involves direct social activism, and a sort of conviction on the part of the journalist, to be able to fight a cause. At this stage, it is essential that we take a look at the various theories of journalism and the various aims and objectives of this profession to understand as to what actually entails this socially responsible journalism. Here, it must be kept in mind that the journalistic ethics boundaries are likely to change with time (Glover, 1999); thus, ethical reflections can be considered as the standardising value for reasoning, within social conventions. “Ethics is the never-completed project of inventing, applying, and critiquing the principles that guide human interaction, define social roles, and justify institutional structures” (Ward, 2008, 138). Thus, one can conclude that ethics, particularly the ethics of journalism, is necessarily a practical activity (Black, Steele, & Barney, 1999) that looks for logical answers to the question, of how to act in a particular situation. Evolution of the various theories of ethical journalism: The history of ethical journalism can be broadly divided into five phases. The first phase known as the invention stage, that is, when the concept of ethical discourse first entered the realms of journalism, and it appeared during the 16th-17th century Europe. Even at this era, that was extensively bigoted in nature and the collection and dissemination of information was still at a very nascent stage, the news editors pledged their readers’ that the news that would receive would reveal a true and unbiased picture based exclusively on factual information (Ward, 2008, 137-138). The second phase was the coming in of the concept of “public ethics” based on the philosophy of Enlightenment, where the journalists took on the mantle of being the saviour of the common people, and pledging to protect their liberty against the powerful state. By the start of the nineteenth century, the press had turned into a powerful institution which was socially recognized and approved, since it promised freedom from oppression, by the powerful class, and this was seen during the American and French revolution, where journalism played a major role. Journalism was accorded recognition as a social institution, in the post-revolutionary French and US constitutions. Soon, from becoming a social institution, journalism gained more power and formed a group that came to be known as the ‘Fourth Estate,’ where the press was viewed as one of the social governing bodies (Ward, 2005, 89–173). This third phase led to the development of the liberal theory that asked for a freer and uncontrolled press, in order to safeguard the rights of the common man, and to bring in liberal reforms in the country (Siebert, 1956). With the development of the liberal theory came the fourth phase that evolved simultaneously and was actually an antithesis of the doctrines of liberalism in journalism. The fourth phase in journalism ethics is the concept that includes communitarian ethics that stress on the well being of the society at large, and the communal feelings of each social member. Here, Clifford Christians, opines that the chief function of a journalist is not providing the readers with only a “thin” liberal layer of information comprising of only certain factual events... [but providing] the readers with a through analysis and rich dialogue based information, that aim at “civic transformation” (Christians, 2006, pp. 65–66). The proponents of a free press were journalists who believed in an unbiased, true, and factual presentation of the news; and they created a professional code of ethics pertaining to the concept of ‘objective journalism,’ based on the theory of social responsibility. This ‘objective journalism’ wanted to reform the liberal press that had shifted to increasingly delivering news that were sensational in nature (yellow journalism), and aimed at financial profits (Campbell, 2001). Instead, it looked for presenting news that would stick to the actual and impartial facts, and not bend to any coercive pressures, or threats from the political orders or other powerful factions. The critics of this objective theory discarded this form of professional reporting, and advocated the practice of reporting that would be more analytical, and investigative in nature, while also acting as a vehicle for social activism. In the late 1990s with the advent of the technology, we find the creation of the fifth phase in journalism, as it entered the stage of “mixed media.” Here we see a large number of non-professional ‘citizen journalists,’ ‘bloggers’ in the world of journalism that took place through the Internet, and these forms of journalism broke all previous notions of conservatism, and challenged all old ideas of careful verification and ‘gate-keeping,’ as the social and civic activism reached new heights, via the Internet and the interactive multimedia. From the above mentioned five phases, we find that there are two main perspectives that dominate journalism ethics, which are, rights based perspective and a care based perspective. The rights based approach conceptualises that the aspect of moral development is an intrinsic part of an individual; while moral and intellectual developments are two attributes that evolve as parallels and are contending in nature. On the contrary, care based approach is based on the notions of “we” instead of “I” and believes that moral development is not generic in nature, neither does it remain constant, while this development is community based and occurs through connection, and not through conflict. Role of a journalist: Journalists, as members of a social institution, have certain rights, duties to perform, and norms to follow; since, as human beings they come under the purview of the general ethical principles that dictate them to be honest, and cause minimum harm; and as professionals, they are also accorded the social power to create political agendas in order to influence public opinion (Elliott, 1986). As per the liberal theory, the journalists should use this immense power vested in them by the society, and should act as watch dogs for the latter, and keep a sharp look out for any misuse of power by the powerful people of the state, and the government in power. When we look at the objectivity and social responsibility theory, we find that two principal notions in this professional code of ethics pertain to being proactive and restraining in professional approach. According to pro-active principles, journalists are not given the freedom to publish news, but are under obligations to publish news that are correct and comprehensive in nature (Hicks, Adams, Gilbert, and Holmes, 2008, 10-11), especially on issues that are pertaining to the interests of the common people; and they must report independently, without fear of threats and coercive pressures, without seeking favour from those in power. Thus, one must always seek the truth, while reporting it correctly and independently, hence, we find that under this theory a journalist must always seek to act against the powerful corrupt, and seek retribution for the common people. On the other hand, there are the restraining principles that make it obligatory for the journalists to use this freedom to publish news with a sense of responsibility that inflict minimum damage to the ‘vulnerable subjects’ of certain news, (such as minors, or people under shock or trauma), while also being accountable to the readers (the common people) for all editorial conclusions. In any situation, journalists must be able to weigh facts, the ethical principles, various standards, and the expected consequences, while also keeping an eye on the legal rights of an individual (Banks, and Hanna, 2009), and the impact of the news on personal reputations of the people involved and interviewed (Black, Steele, & Blarney, 1999, 29–30; Adams, 2001). When there are conflicts over reporting the truth and minimizing the harm that may come out of the news, (a conflict between the moral based approach, and care based approach), journalists will have to self-evaluate and decide which perspective should get the priority in that particular situation. Thus, a journalist must learn to reason, using a ‘reflective equilibrium’ amongst his ethical values and his personal intuitions (Rawls, 1993, 8). The social responsibility theory by Peterson (1956), states that “a truthful, comprehensive, and intelligent account” of the occurrences, and create “a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism” (Commission on Freedom of the Press, 1947, pp. 21–28). As per the report the press must provide a correct “presentation and clarification of the goals and values of society,” while “provid[ing] full access to the day’s intelligence” (ibid). If these self regulations under social responsibility fail, the experts warn, it would result in oppression of the common man by the powerful state-where it would ultimately lead to information going into the hands of the government, making them all powerful. An all powerful state would in turn try to curb and gag the media, so that it cannot inspire the common people to revolt against it. This was evident in the recent ongoing ‘jasmine revolution’ in China, where the term “jasmine” was used as a code and dispersed through the internet news media to inspire revolution by the civic populace and fight against years of tyranny and authoritarian leadership. Thus, from these instances we find that it is the journalist’s social duty to inform the general people about the activities and various wrongdoings of a dictatorial government controlling the state, and inspire people to fight against it. Under the theory of Interpretation and Activism, we find that the journalists delineate the term “informing the public” as going against the state decision, and opposing wars (role of the US media during the Vietnam War) and promoting various social causes. Journalists seeking change through social activism work towards aligning public opinion against powerful entities like the government and various business houses that practice unjust policies. Most famous and successful of the journalists that practiced social activism were the ‘muckraking journalists’ in US, during the early half of the twentieth century (Applegate, 1997). In the 1990s, we find a new concept of ‘civic journalism’ coined by the US journalists where the journalist act as catalysts for civic welfare causes (Rosen 1996). Here the most noteworthy case of civic journalism was the news made public by Harold Evans, where he fought against all odds and threats from a powerful business house, and highlighted the fact about the drug thalidomide, which was the source of deformities in children, after birth (Evans, 2000). Here again we find that to fulfil this ethical principles, a journalist fought against the powerful and the corrupt orders, in order to secure rights and liberties for the poor and the oppressed. Thus, journalism is not only about giving just the facts and data, it involves a certain amount of passion, to take up a cause and fight for it, against all odds and threats. The fourth approach to ethical journalism is the practice of communitarian ethics (Christians, Ferre, & Fackler, 1993.) Here the communitarian angle or the care perspectives, gives importance on the effects of journalism on the community as a whole, and on building relationships based on communal and care values. Communitarians emphasize the necessity of achieving communal good, thus propagating that the journalists should promote the community’s commitments and values. Communitarians like Clifford Christians, believe in the theory of “humans-in-relation” and opine that news is not only about presenting facts and data, but it must provide the community with an open and valuable dialogue that would aim to bring about “civic transformation(s)” (Christians, 2006,. 65–66). The principles of the care approach ethical journalism thus state that “a fuller, richer media system may emerge, on that can and will consider such concepts as compassion, subjectivity, and need” (Black 2006, 99).Thus, here too, we find that journalists are under obligation to work for the betterment of the community, and if necessary also work against the powerful state and other organisations, that mete out injustice and unfair treatment to the common people. Conclusion A look at the five major theories on ethical journalism show us that journalists are under certain obligations to present correct and factual information to the people, while also maintaining a certain degree of responsibility regarding the nature of news presented. Though ethical journalism has been has come under attack quite often where it has been proclaimed that ethical debates are ‘unrealistic’ and ‘nonsensical,’ (Randall, 311-312). However, here it must be remembered that journalism without ethics would lose all value and credibility to its readers, as was seen in the case of “yellow journalism” in US, thus, all unethical approaches to journalism must be avoided at all costs (Sanders, 2003, 2). Journalists must play the all important role of dispensing information and maintaining an equable balance of power, and safeguarding the common man from exploitation and oppression. Thus, there is no doubt that of the various responsibilities that a journalist must shoulder, one of the most important responsibility is that of protecting the common man from the powerful state and other powerful social members, and fight against all forms oppression, while standing by the side of the weak, and the marginalised. Journalism must entail that the person who is investigating and looking for news is inspired enough to fight for the cause, for he must not cower when receiving threats, or bow down to power. Fighting for the rights of the poor and the oppressed must be like a crusade that a journalist has to take over, and be ready to fight against the might of the rich and the mighty, and stay true to the ethics of his profession. Bibliography Applegate, E., 1997. Journalistic advocates and muckrakers. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company. Banks, D., and Hanna, M., 2009. McNae's Essential Law for Journalists. Oxford University Press. Black, J., 2006. Foreword. 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