Ethics can be concisely defined as the reasoning behind human action and morals.
Whilst morals refer to the practical value choices a person makes, ethics refer to the principles behind them. The ethics of journalism have many aspects including legal, instructional and professional.
The work of a journalist is ultimately controlled by national and international laws. Usually, in free democracies, the ethical code of journalism is stronger than the local law: not everything that is legal is necessarily good practice. International law, international agreements and domestic law are thus not the only systems that regulate the work of a journalist.
What is ethics in journalism?
According to the basic division, there are two kinds of ethics: duty-based ethics and consequentialist ethics.
In the case of journalism, duty-based ethics stress the importance of truth, while consequential ethics focus on societal good. If a journalist thinks that it is most important that a story is true and that the facts are right, they follow duty-based ethics.
On the other hand, a journalist may think that the effects of a cause are the most important aspect and, as a result, follow consequentialist ethics. Does the article offend someone? What kind of effects will the publication of the article have? Can the publication of a certain article do more harm than good, even if the facts used are correct?
The ethical code of journalism is much the same as the ethical code of science. As in science, in journalism it is also important to be objective, critical, autonomous and progressive.
Objectivity and criticality describe the relationship with knowledge. Autonomy should be achieved, at least from funders, owners and the state. The ethical code of progressivity refers to the principle that science and journalism should create new information.
The ethical code of journalism is much the same as the ethical code of science. As in science, in journalism it is also important to be objective, critical, autonomous and progressive.
If the foundations of journalism ethics are tracked far enough, one finds that they are based on various international agreements and declarations, such as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and regulations of international law.
The UNESCO declaration regarding mass media (1978) and the Paris Declaration (1983), which were backed by numerous journalist associations, define the ethical guidelines more accurately in questions related to media and journalism. They are based on the basic principles of international law, democracy and independence.
It is easiest to handle ethics through duties and freedoms. The most important freedom that journalists use is the freedom of speech, which is also defined in legislation.
To whom is a journalist responsible for?
A journalist is responsible to the following parties:
- Society, the general public
- Customers, supporters and subscribers
- Their employer, the corporation
- Colleagues, the professional community
- Themselves, their conscience.
In 1991, a Finnish researcher, Tiina Laitila, studied 30 sets of journalist ethics publications, and the result shows that journalists think they are primarily responsible to their audience and the sources and objects of their information. Their employer and the state are much more seldom mentioned in ethical rulebooks.
Keep Reading:
The self-regulation system of journalism; Tips for responsible reporting
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This article was updated on January 9th 2020.
