The Media and Its Responsibilities - Research Paper Example

The media and its responsibilities Introduction The mass media is a fundamental aspect of the contemporary society since it provides a perfect platform for mass communication. Just as he name suggests, the mass media refers to diverse technologies that enhance communication to a large and heterogeneous audience often strewn over a large geographical region. As such, the media has integral functions and roles besides informing their audiences. Journalists, the individuals mandated with the collection and dissemination of the information through the mass media, interact with the society as they search for the newsworthy events and occurrences to report to their audiences. As such, they have numerous roles including agenda setting and influencing the public opinion. The volatility of their functions, journalists must uphold specific ethical values and responsibilities in order to minimize any form of harm that comes with mass communication as the discussion below portrays. As hinted above, the media has numerous functions including to inform, to educate, to entertain, surveillance and agenda setting among many others. In doing so, journalists identify events and occurrences that they consider newsworthy. Furthermore, the media often sets agenda in sensitive issues through editorials. Editorials are specific columns that permit journalists among other media personalities to share their thoughts with the public. The media is an influential aspect of the society with the audiences often consuming the contents of the media with trust (Waller, 2005). As such, the damage of irresponsive journalism is extensive. This therefore requires the journalists to abide by numerous ethical features most of which are in their codes of conduct. Deontology is a type of normative ethics that influences the responsibilities of the media by underscoring the need for adherence to rules. Ethics is a personal decision, which often relies on the individual’s definition of either right or wrong. In doing this, journalists must consider the ramifications of their actions thereby undertaking the roles with the view of limiting harm. While journalists have the right to information, they have equally extensive responsibilities in order to ensure that they use the information appropriately with the view of minimizing harm. As such, journalists must have adequate training. Professional training provides journalists with the skills of identifying newsworthy occurrences besides equipping them with the ability to develop news stories. Additionally, effective training equips journalists with the relative media ethics that enhances the success of the profession. While ethics are based on the relative personal definitions of morality and the societal values, rules are both concrete and definite. This implies that besides raining journalists must have specific rules that guide their actions with the view of upholding responsiveness. Proponents of deontological ethics argue that ethics are corruptible. As sensitive as journalisms is, a journalist is likely to meet a source that will bribe them thus corrupting their morality. As such, the proponents vouch for the creation of effective laws to guide the operations of the journalists thus upholding the ethical values. Rules are stringent and often bear appropriate ramifications. Most media institutions have codes of conduct, which the journalists sign thus promising to uphold. Furthermore, governments often have effective laws that provide journalists with guidelines that influence their operations thus minimizing harm. The normative ethical viewpoint judges the behavior of a journalists based I their ability to uphold the values of the profession by ascribing to the rules, which are often both state rule and in-house rules. By signing their contracts, the journalist accepts the terms of the contract and promise to respect the rules. Breaking any rule therefore attracts an appropriate punishment. In most cases, effective rules promise punishments that are commensurate to the harm that recklessness causes. State laws on the other hand attract legal suits in which the state accuses either he journalist or a media institution for breaking the laws thus advising appropriate punishments. Rule based ethics are effective owing to the fact that they invoke obligation to the duties. With effective rules, the journalists are likely to uphold journalistic ethics by conforming to the existing rules. The nature of the ethical theory on the other requires the creation of effective rules. This implies that the rules must cover all the ethical concerns in the professions. Among the journalistic ethics are objectivity, confidentiality of sources and truth among others. The media rules must therefore cover such effectively in order to prevent any redundancy that may either cause harm to the society or hinder the freedoms and independence of journalists. Covering sex offence victims, interviewing juveniles and covering violence are among the most fundamental ethical concerns for journalists. Creating media rules to govern the operations of journalists must therefore consider the numerous possibilities that arise from the broader topical issues that journalists must uphold (Hare, 1952). Upholding truth and objectivity for example are concerns that enhance the integrity of journalists. However, in doing this the ethical values are likely to raise self-conflicts. The media rules thus require adequate consideration of all the features of the profession thus eliminating any form of either redundancy or confusion. State laws are among the major rules that affect the operations of both the media institutions and journalists in country. Independence is a journalistic ethical value that is likely to conflict with state laws, as has been the case in numerous cases especially in young democracies. Journalistic ethics often conflict with state laws on numerous occasion. Confidentiality of sources is among such cases in which a news story can cause harm but the journalistic ethics does not permit journalists to reveal the name of their sources. As stated, the media is often an independent entity. However, the need for responsive journalism compels the creation of specific rules to guide the operations of journalists. Such unique categories of the profession as investigative journalism and undercover reporters often compel journalists to employ unorthodox practices such as bribing news sources in order to obtain information. Such aces present scenarios that require effective governance with the creation of equally effective in-house laws in order to uphold the freedom and independence of journalisms. Journalist as influential members of the society should therefore uphold the state laws. In cases of conflicts, the two must find a common ground thus minimizing harm in either party. In retrospect, deontological ethics provide effective ways of ensuring compliance with the law thus upholding the journalist ethics. Utilitarianism is yet another normative ethical viewpoint. The viewpoint argues that ethical actions are those that maximize utility. This implies that an ethical action is one that reduces suffering while maximizing benefits. As explained earlier, the media is an instrumental aspect of the society. The functions of the media portray the importance of the media especially in the contemporary society. The fundamental functions of the media are agenda setting, surveillance and holding the society together. Such functions require that journalists make personal decisions on the messages they convey to their audiences. In performing the above functions, the media is likely to cause either harm or benefits to the society. Journalists must therefore make decisions on a daily basis concerning the new stories and editorials they run in their media facilities thus enhancing the benefits of the practice to the society. The utilitarian viewpoint may often conflict with deontological ethics that require that the media institutions cover all the journalistic ethics in the rules of the organizations. Proponents of the utilitarian theory on the other hand hold that unlike laws, ethics influence the actions and decisions that people make all the time (Smith, 2006). The proponents argue that while rules influence the actions of individuals, ethics provide values that influence the attitudes of the individuals thus enhance the positivity of the decisions they make key among which include the need to uphold the rules. Utilitarian theory thus posits that individual must make decisions based on the effects of their actions. The choice of the decisions relies on either the benefits or harm of such actions. In most cases, people must strive to minimize harm while maximizing the benefits. Journalists make decisions at all the time with most of the decisions influencing the effectiveness of their operations. Actions of the journalists can cause either harm or benefit to the society. By abiding by the utilitarian theory, proponents of the theory explain that journalists will consider the effects of their actions and decisions based on either the harm or benefit of such actions thus choosing actions that maximize the benefits of the practice. Journalists can either unite the society or further the sectarian divisions in a society through their coverage of the newsworthy events and editorial columns (Garner & Bernard, 1967). The utilitarian theory thus strives to influence the decisions of journalists by imploring them to consider the possible effects of their actions thus choosing only the decisions that maximize the benefits of their actions. Undercover reporting is a journalistic practice that may often appear unethical since it compels journalists to lie to their news sources and bribe them in order to obtain valuable information. Such are social vices and by engaging is such journalists foster the social vices. However, engaging in such portrays the personal decisions that journalists make some of which are not reliant on the in-house rules of the practice. In fact, by breaking the rules and social values the journalists enhance the social good of their practice. This way they maximize the benefits of the practice to the society. Utilitarian theory influences the process of decision making by providing people with the ability to consider the ramifications of their actions thus choosing an action that upholds the social values. Confidentiality of news sources is a journalistic ethic that just as many other occurs selectively. Journalists must make their journalistic decision on whether to reveal their sources based on the ramifications of such. Besides the ethical theories, ethical perspectives are equally important features that influence the operations of journalists by enhancing their adherence to the journalistic ethics. Key among the perspectives is ethical egoism a perspective that conflicts with numerous other perspectives. Ethical egoism is a normative perspective that asserts that people must act in their own self-interest. While the perspective appears selfish, it correlates with many other theories and perspectives thus ensuring that journalists minimize harm by upholding responsiveness. The media is a sensitive facet of the society often drawing sharp and varied criticism from both the public and other special interest groups. As such, journalists must consider their actions with the view of improving their reputation. This portrays the extent of ethical egoism as people will always make decisions based on the effects of such actions on their reputation thus self-interest. The realistic theory portrays the innate personal features, people are elfish in nature often undertaking specific action based on the benefit such actions present to them. Media institutions for example are businesses with their primary objective being to maximize profitability. This implies that media institutions must employ features that will increase their audience thus increasing their profitability. Journalists on the other hand are people with the selfish drive to make names for themselves thus improving their earnings. As such, journalists will always perfect their reporting and investigative skills with the view of improving their usefulness thus making the competitive brands in the industry. Compliance with the ethics in the industry improves the profitability of the media institution since an integral media institution appears likeable to the public. The media often addresses sensitive issues that affect the lives of the audiences thus validating the need for ethical operations. Covering conflicts and politics are some of the newsworthy events that often elicit emotions from the audience. Furthermore, the journalists are likely to take sides thus foster their own ideas depending on the nature of the conflicts. Despite the lucrativeness of such features, journalists are likely to remain integral and uphold objectivity based on their self-interests. Remaining integral is such sectarian issues is a portrayal of defiance to the intricate personal nature. Journalists thus sacrifice their political and sectarian allegiances often engaging in such while not on official duty in order to improve their benefits. By remaining integral, the journalist seeks to improve their preference by their target audience thus making themselves competitive brands in the industry. Different numerous journalists have developed successful careers by striving to maintain objectivity, a fundamental journalistic ethic. Ethical egoism provides a realistic explanation to some of the personal motivations that journalists portray in their practice since they do so with the view of improving their quality in the industry thus improving their benefits. As explained earlier, the perspective differs with both rational egoism and ethical altruism but in this context, the perspective serves to motivate journalists to uphold the professional codes of conducts and ethics. As stated earlier media institutions are business that just as any other strives to improve the profitability of the business. As such, media institutions develop stringent rules most of which compel the compliance to the journalistic ethics as a way of minimizing harm thus maiming the profitability of the institutions. Such accusations as defamation are heinous crimes that media institutions account for by often paying hefty fines. Such amount to losses that the institutions strive to limit by developing stringent rules thus upholding the deontological viewpoints to journalistic ethics, the media institutions therefore implore their employees to uphold the ethical standards in their profession with the view of minimizing losses. Emotivism is yet another controversial viewpoint that explains the behavior of the journalists in their profession of disseminating news contents thus maintaining responsiveness in the practice. The perspective holds that ethical sentences are always expression of emotions but not propositions. The perspective holds the view that appreciation of ethical standards is portrayal of emotions. The perspective explains the actions of journalist who often cover varied issues. Just as any other individual, journalists are humans and therefore entitled to their opinions and emotions (Hudson, 1970). Their decisions are therefore always based on their emotions, which enhances the decisions that the journalists make. The decision to uphold the professional ethics in the practice are subject to the emotions of the journalists. Objectivity and integrity are two journalistic ethics that just as the perspective holds results from the emotions of the respective journalists. The existence of varied ramifications to the different actions of the journalists is a fundamental factor that influences the decisions that journalists make on whether to uphold the ethical principles or not. Conclusion In retrospect, adherence to the journalistic ethics is a professional value that influences the operations of the journalist thus improving the effectiveness of the profession. Different ethical theories and perspectives explain the nature of the journalistic ethics and the need to comply with them. The development of the media industry in the contemporary society has expanded the industry this increasing the number of operating journalists. As such, adherence to the ethical codes remains fundamental feature that ensure that the operations of the journalists do not harm the society. The numerous ethical standards strive to minimize any form of harm that journalists may cause to the society. Ethics influence the decisions that people make. Journalists thus just as any other professionals require appropriate drives to ensure that they uphold the ethical standards thus make decisions that do not harm the society. References Garner, R. T & Bernard, R. (1967). Moral Philosophy: A Systematic Introduction to Normative Ethics and Meta-ethics. New York: Macmillan. Hare, R. M. (1952). The Language of Morals. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Hudson, W. D. (1970). Modern Moral Philosophy. New York: Macmillan and Co. Ltd. Smith, T. (2006). The Virtuous Egoist: Ayn Rands Normative Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Waller, B. N. (2005). Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contemporary Issues. New York: Pearson Longman. Read More