Assessment one - The role of ethics in Journalism - Essay Example

Umpteenth number of times the media has been blamed to be inaccurate and biased (“Ethical Issues in Journalism”). Englehardt and Barney express that utilitarianism “declares an action, intention or principle should be judged by the overall immediate outcomes” (16). The theory of utilitarianism rests on the principle of utility, where every action is approved or disapproved as per the propensity it seems to have with the purpose of augmenting or diminishing happiness of the part whose interest is in question (Harrison 67).

Petrick & Quinn (48) suggest that utilitarianism signifies that the ethical value of an action is dependent on yielding the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Applying this concept to journalism ethics involves the practice of journalism in a technical sense into conflict with the corporate values (Breit 213). Although journalism regards ethical value on the basis of its effect on journalists’ potential to supply information, the media corporation calculates ethical values from the viewpoint of maximizing investor wealth (Breit 213).

As per Statman, living according to utilitarianism implies “caring about principles, rules and obligations, not about real human beings” (7). According to Mills, the principle of utilitarianism is that the purpose of ethics is to direct people in performing things that will result in making the world a better place (Smith 47-52). In short, the utilitarians expect people to endeavor to perform in a manner that will yield “the greatest good for the greatest number” (Smith 47-52). What actually matters is the consequences of our actions and not our motives or intentions (Smith 47-52).

However, it is not always possible to determine the consequences of our actions (Smith 47-52). For instance, a reporter may think that a story about teen suicide may enable the schools and the public to understand and