Lecture Eight: Ethics

At the lecture this week we were lucky enough to have Donna Meiklejohn as a guest lecturer. Her lengthy career as a journalist enabled her to provide an interesting insight into the ethical struggles that we will face as journalists.

We first looked at advertisements that have caused controversy with the words or images that have been chosen for certain campaigns. The image below was brought on screen causing some students to gasp or raise their eyebrows. This ignited the discussion as to whether using controversy to make a point is ethically okay. I for one thought the ad was clever, effective and definitely got the point across. My ethical radar said it was fine. However, the plot thickens when journalists throw people into the ethical debate.

 

 

 

 

 

 Donna told us a story of how she, as a young journalist, was asked to interview the grieving family of three young boys who had been electrocuted. This task would’ve proved daunting for anyone, let alone a journalist with little experience. Donna described how her moral compass told her that requesting an interview from the family was wrong. However, when she put it in to the perspective that she was just doing her job and that this would help pay her bills, she knew she had to get the interview. Donna’s advice was to put the job into perspective and not get carried away with the emotional side of the story. I know I will find this particularly challenging as a rookie journalist; however, it will obviously get easier with practice. As journalists we are lucky enough to have ethics codes to justify our work. These include: Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Public Relations Institute of Australia and Australian Association of National Advertisers.

We discussed three ethical theories that might aid us in making our decisions as future journalists.

Consequentialism: This is the theory that focuses on outcomes. E.g. It might be uncomfortable for you at the time, but in the end will this be for the better?

Virtue: This is the idea of right and wrong. You have to ask yourself if the decision you are about to make coincide with your values.

Deontology: This theory is simply following the rules and guidelines so that you do the right thing. Most journalists will follow this theory on most reporting assignments.

In conclusion, it is obvious that as a journalist I will be faced with some moral minefields. However, at the end of the day I must remember that by reporting on the story I am just doing my job. I have to pay my bills somehow!!