Byline: Dave Dawson
Oct. 20--I've had an opportunity to do a lot of thinking about ethics lately after being invited to speak on the subject.
Ethics is defined in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as "the rules or standards governing the conduct of members of a profession."
I like that definition. For members of the journalism profession the primary governing standards are, in my opinion, honesty, integrity and fairness. Editors or reporters who don't have those qualities really don't have much.
I then turned to a college textbook -- 1976 vintage, written after Watergate -- and discovered that a lot of what is in that book today is still relevant. Ethics, perhaps, never goes out of style.
The book, "The Messenger's Motives: Ethical Problems of the News Media," is one I have read more than once. It is one of the very few books I bothered to keep from college.
As I reread the book, it was clear the same problems that vexed editors in 1976 are doing the same thing in 2006. Only now some of the problems facing newspaper editors have to do with the Internet and other forms of technology including video productions on the Web.
Some people believe newsrooms operate with few rules and no principles. The few rules part I can plead guilty to, but there are highly principled people at the Herald & Review and countless other newsrooms who think before they act.
Ethics is in the eye of the beholder, but I think the most common problem that arises in our newsroom involves small gifts. If a reporter writes a story about a prize-winning cook and she delivers a smorgasbord of goodies to the newsroom, it's hard to turn it down without sounding ungracious. Instead of keeping it for personal consumption, the custom is to make it available to everyone.
We've had occasions where a local business owner gave us several sacks of goodies -- most of the items were nonperishable. In these instances, some items were kept, but the majority was donated to an agency that served clientele who might enjoy an extra treat.
We also get a good supply of free stuff without asking. The number of CDs, books, T-shirts and other assorted freebies we receive is astounding. The solution we have come up with to deal with freebies is to have a newspaper-wide silent auction.
The items are sorted, marked and laid out on a table in the lunchroom. People come by and put in their bids. The auctions run for about a week and when it is done, the people who submitted winning bids pay for their items. The cash raised -- an auction can raise anywhere from $150 to $500, depending on the quality of the merchandise -- is donated to a local charity.
Reporters do worry about getting free stuff. They turn down offers for drinks or a meal because they don't want to appear as if they can be bought. My feeling is that if they are offered a sandwich or a soft drink, they should feel free to accept.
Your ethical standards are pretty low if you can be bought off with a ham sandwich.
While we don't have a formal code of ethics, reporters and editors know the basics. Ethics is a topic that is discussed directly or indirectly every single day.
And as new situations come up, we try to keep in mind what is fair and right. I firmly believe that journalists who strive to be ethical stay out of trouble.
Managing Editor Dave Dawson can be reached at ddawson@herald-review.com or 421-7980.
Copyright (c) 2006, Herald & Review, Decatur, Ill.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business
News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
No comments:
Post a Comment