Journalism designers code of ethics - Essay Example

Data Journalism Designers of Ethics Introduction The general definition of ethics refers to a set of sthat govern individual behaviors. In journalism, ethics refers to a set of norms and principles that guide the profession (Merill 78). Journalists always face ethical dilemmas when fulfilling their duties of reporting and publishing information to the public. Design journalism has become a new center of focus and organizations are increasingly using mobile and apps in editions (Lowrey 4). In this case, the newsroom designer is a crucial figure in planning stages of the news projects. Designer journalists should, therefore, understand principles that govern the profession that also involves studying ethical standards. The focus of this discussion is how ethical issues too much photo shopping, distortion or manipulation of photos and censoring the images. Ethical issues in designer journalism Journalism designers should understand every aspect of the news they are designing or editing so that as to attract good judgment from the public. Lowrey (4) postulates that a designer journalist has to make crucial decisions before presenting news to the public. The most important ethical issue that always arises with designer journalism is handling of photographs (Merrill 24). The focus should be to ensure that photographs maintain their original meaning. Journalists manipulate photographs in pursuit of aesthetic values. However, digital processing provides no limits to image manipulation though such activities should be based on good motives or intentions. In the process of pursuing aesthetic values of an image, design journalists sometimes violate journalism code of ethics. An ethical issue may arise when such images or photos find their use as evidences in court. In this case, there is an ethical dilemma about the appropriateness of such images as evidences in court. One of the theoretical models that underpin the study of ethics in journalism is Duty Based Moral Theory that perceives ethics as a moral responsibility (Merrill 27). In this case, journalists have the obligation to uphold moral responsibility of which they must not distort any information or content whatsoever. The call to observe ethical responsibility with regard to manipulation of information also borrow a lot from the philosophical thoughts of Immanuel Kant as one of the important contributors to ethical thinking (Merril 56). According to Kant, human beings should freely observe rules as a way of enhancing morality in the society. In this case, designer journalists should observe the ethical codes of conducts as the rules that govern their moral behaviors and this applies to distortion of images. Another useful theoretical underpinning of ethical issues in the society is communitarian theory that came into existence thanks to critical thinking of Goodwyn Barmby (Merrill 44). According to the philosophy, the community or society has the right to information and holds the media responsible for enlightening the public. An ethical issue that might arise when using too much Photoshop is hiding crucial information from the public. A design journalist while manipulating an image may delete some parts thus hiding crucial information from the public. Therefore, communitarian theory holds that it is unethical to hide crucial information from the public. The philosophy, thus, brings into question the level of obligation that designer have concerning information sharing with the public. As a design journalist, it is important to make tradeoffs between the right of the public and the choice to conceal information source. If a situation attracts too much public interest, then the communitarian philosophy may guide the journalism through information sharing decision. Since Designer journalism entails editing news content, inappropriate handling of images and media content is equally an ethical issue (Miller 45). The press has freedom of handling information, but the decision should not result in an ethical dilemma. Inappropriate handling of photographs or images may result in misrepresentation of information. For instance, a design journalist may decide to manipulate a photograph of two wrestlers, and give advantage to the losing opponent. However, the other opponent can as well challenge the misrepresentation and has the right to sue the journalist for distortion with intention to give the loser an advantage. When such situations confront designer journalists, they can borrow from philosophical thinking of Sir William David Rose, who suggests that words or actions bind individuals to certain duties (Lowrey 7). The implication is that a journalist upon signing the contract must act according the provision of the agreement. Journalism ethical code of conduct has a strong stance about misrepresentation of information and distortion of contents. The third ethical issue that confronts designer journalists is censorship of contents especially images or photographs. One of the ethical dilemmas about censorship of photographs arises when the public needs to know the real perpetrators of criminal activities. In most cases, design journalists have always had difficult times trying to uphold their ethical obligation of providing the public with information while at the same time respecting individual image or reputation. For instance, the public may demand to know offenders like child rapists. On the other hand, the rapists are also human beings whose rights at stake. In such scenarios, designer journalists can either censor images so as to conceal identities of the offenders or might as well publicize the individuals to the public. In this case, there are certain theoretical models that guide the designer journalist in making the decision. A theoretical model that can help with ethical problems like image censoring is the Utilitarian Theory by the renowned British philosopher John Stuart Mill (Merrill 23). The theory puts a strong emphasis on consequences that come with ethical judgment. In this case, the theory focuses on consequences as opposed to Kant’s model that emphasizes on the reasons behind particular actions. The main idea behind utilitarian philosophy is that consequences of people’s actions are important in assessing the ethical aspect of the issue at stake. Therefore, an ethical dilemma like the decision to censor or publicize images of child rapists relies on the consequences that it attracts. Therefore, utilitarian theory can alternatively lay the basis for considering ethical responsibility of upholding confidentiality of the offender. The decision should respect the privacy of individual while at the same time satisfy the public’s need for information. On the other hand, hiding offenders like child rapists has a bad implication on fight against such crimes. Therefore, designer journalists have to weigh their decisions based on consequences as the utilitarian theory postulates. Design journalism overall code of ethics Designer journalists should ensure minimum manipulation of photographs or images so that they do not misrepresent the information. On the other hand, they should consider the consequences of their actions before censoring images to hide serious offenders like the child rapists. Moreover, design journalists have the obligation to carry out minimum Photoshop. Conclusion The changing face of journalism in the contemporary society brings into focus other new professions in the sector like designer journalism (Lowrey 4). However, the general ethical issues still apply to designer journalism. Therefore, this piece of work has identified Photoshop, mishandling as well as censoring of images as some of ethical issues. Besides, the work draws from the philosophical thoughts of pioneers like Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. The philosophers laid the basis for the ethical standards that guide journalism profession including the right of the public to get information, misrepresentation of information and upholding privacy. Works Cited Merrill, John C. Journalism Ethics: Philosophical Foundations for News Media. New York: St. Martins Press, 1997. Lowrey, Wilson. "The influential designer: Explaining variability in control over news presentation work." Visual Communication Quarterly 9.1 (2002): 4-13. Read More