Ethical Media Professionals - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1611 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Media Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Introduction Every day in every career or job, decisions have to be made. However, it is really hard to differentiate ethical and unethical decisions. At times, decisions even have to be made in the heat of the moment. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Ethical Media Professionals" essay for you Create order So how does one ensure that the ethical choice is made? Media professionals do not differ much from other professionals in this regard. Professions such as lawyers and possibly doctors are also faced with ethical and unethical decisions to be made. Therefore, codes of conduct for these professions have to be made in order for the people involved to be able to make the right decision at the right time. However, unlike media professionals, violating these codes will often get the other professionals barred from practice or even have their licenses revoked. Media professionals on the other hand, have no professional review boards to revoke or to even grant these licenses. Although the performance codes for media are not as strict as other industries, they still exist. And here we are today to discuss, or rather to present, these ethical principles. The Print Media The first set of ethics was set by the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) in 1923, one year after founding the organization. They adopted the Canons of Journalism without any pressure from the government or the public. There were seven canons, namely; responsibility, freedom of the press, independence, accuracy, impartiality, fair play and decency. The canons are mostly prescriptive rather than proscriptive, in the sense that it tells the media what to do, rather than to tell them what to avoid. A brief description of each cannon: (1) Responsibility The right of a newspaper to attract and hold readers is restricted by nothing but considerations of public welfare. The newspaper makes use of the share of public attention it gains which serves to determine its sense of responsibility, which it shares with every member of its staff. A journalist who uses his power for any selfish or otherwise unworthy purpose is faithless to a high trust. (2) Freedom of the Pre ss Freedom of the press is to be guarded as a vital right of mankind. It is the unquestionable right by law, including the wisdom of any restrictive statute. To its privileges under the freedom of American institutions are inseparably joined its responsibilities for an intelligent fidelity to the Constitution of the United States. (3) Independence Freedom from all obligations except that of fidelity to the public interest is vital. A. Promotion of any private interest contrary to the general welfare, for whatever reason, is not compatible with honest journalism. So-called news communications from private sources should not be published without public notice of their source or else substantiation of the claims to value as news, both in form and substance. B. Partisanship in editorial comment which knowingly departs from the truth does violence to the best spirit of American journalism; in the news columns it is subversive of a fundamental principle of the profession. (4 ) Sincerity, Truthfulness, Accuracy Good faith with the reader is the foundation of all journalism worthy of the name. A. By every consideration of good faith, a newspaper is constrained to be truthful. It is not to be excused for lack of thoroughness, or accuracy within its control, or failure to obtain command of these essential qualities. B. Headlines should be fully warranted by the contents of the articles which they surmount. (5) Impartiality Sound practice makes clear distinction between news reports and expressions of opinion. News reports should be free from opinion or bias of any kind. This rule does not apply to so-called special articles unmistakably devoted to advocacy or characterized by a signature authorizing the writers own conclusions and interpretations. (6) Fair Play A newspaper should not publish unofficial charges affecting reputation or moral character, without opportunity given to the accused to be heard; right practice demands the giving of su ch opportunity in all cases of serious accusation outside judicial proceedings. A. A newspaper should no invade rights of private feelings without sure warren of public right as distinguished from public curiosity. B. It is the privilege, as it is the duty, of a newspaper to make prompt and complete correction of its own serious mistakes of fact or opinion, whatever their origin. (7) Decency A newspaper cannot escape conviction of insincerity if, while professing high moral purpose, it supplies incentives to base conduct, such as are to be found in details of crime and vice, publication of which is not demonstrably for the general good. Lacking authority to enforce its canons, the journalism here represented can but express the hope that deliberate pandering to vicious instincts will encounter effective public disapproval or yield to the influence of a preponderant professional condemnation.* *: Cited from www.superiorclipping.com/canons.html When the Canons of Journa lism was first released, an article in the Times magazine stated that The American Society of Newspaper Editors aim to be to journalism what the American Bar Association is to the legal fraternity. However there was a major difference both of the organizations. ASCE has never removed anyone from its membership even with ample reasons for it. However, the American Bar Association had the power to revoke license of practice. Even though these canons exist, it is still really difficult to differ between ethical and unethical actions. For example, using the canon responsibility, if a reporter were to do a write up on a celebrity, namely Britney Spears, on her career, will that reporter just report the good parts of her life? Or will that reporter include her scandals as well? These 7 canons were later revised by the ASNE in the year 1975. They were renamed as Statement of Principles. Those were the code of conduct by the ASNE. Somewhere around that time, another organizatio n called The Society of Professional Journalist (SPJ) adopted their own code. SPJ was formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi. The SPJ code did not change for over 45 years, but was however revised in years 1973, 1984, 1987 and one more time in 1996 due to ethics within the journalistic society being more problematic. SPJ designed their code to guide journalist involved in every media and are based on these four principles: Seek the truth and report it. Journalist should be honest, fair and courageous in reporting the news. Minimize harm. Journalist should treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect. Act independently. Journalist should be free of obligation to any interest other than the publics right to know Be accountable. Journalists should be accountable to their audience and each other. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬   à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  : Cited from page 395 Joseph R. Dominicks The Dynamics of Mass Communication tenth edition In 1975, another code was again adopted by yet another organization named the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME). This time around, the codes are about responsibility, accuracy, integrity and independence. In 1995, the code was then revised to cover issues such as plagiarism and diversity. In late 1999, another organization came into the picture. A newspaper chain called the Gannett Company, was the first to use ethical principles for the content of its papers. Theyve took upon this decision mainly because of the growing distrust that the public has on the media. They wish to regain the trust of the public and to reassure them that their contents are not inaccurate or unfair. The new guidelines forbid, among other things, lying to get a story, fabricating news, and publishing misleading alterations of photographs. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ © à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ © : Cited from pag e 395 Joseph R. Dominicks The Dynamics of Mass Communication tenth edition Broadcasting Since 1929, radio and television broadcasters have followed the Code of Good Practice by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). The code was revised over certain periods throughout the years. The code itself is divided into two parts. The first part of the code covers advertising in the radio and television. The second part covers general program practices. However, in 1982, due to certain limitations on advertising, and after being ruled by court, the advertising part of the code was dissolved. The following year, due to more legal pressure, the NAB officially abolished the code entirely. In 1990, a programming principle was issued by the NAB. This time around, it addressed four key areas: children TV, violence and drug, substance abuse, and indecency. These new guidelines were stated obviously, for example Glamorization of drug use and substance abuse should be avoided^ ^: Cited from page 396 Joseph R. Dominicks The Dynamics of Mass Communication tenth editi on In 1997, a bill was introduced by four senators. That bill enables all broadcasting and cable industries to be immune from antitrust laws. Antitrust would mean Opposing or intended to regulate business monopolies, such as trusts or cartels, especially in the interest of promoting competition as cited from The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. This allowed them to develop a new code. Other bills were introduced in Congress 1998 and 1999. These bills were similar in the sense that they all encourage broadcasters to develop a voluntary code of conduct. The Radio and Television News Directors Association, in the broadcast journalist area, came up with a more extensive code. The 11-part code covers everything from camera in the courtroom to invasion of privacy. The new philosophy concerning ethics in broadcasting reveals that: They are advisory rather than prohibitive; they should be centred in indi vidual stations or corporations, rather than a national organization like NAB; since there is no provision for monitoring and enforcement on the national level, any concerns about ethics should come from individual stations and listeners/viewers; the decentralization of ethics may be indicative of a pluralistic society, where values and mores reflect distinct group perspectives, rather than a national standard.

Euthanasi A Moral Dilemma - 1190 Words

Shubhpreet Janda Prof. Anthony Fraser English Comp 1 May 5, 2015 Euthanasia: A Moral Dilemma In a brightly-lit, cold white room, Dr. Jesse is discussing the extent of the life-threatening disease that a patient, Mark, has. Mark has a chance of survival, but only for about two torturous months where he will have to separate himself from his normal life and engage in chemotherapy every day. When first hearing about his situation, Mark immediately decides that plowing through two painful months is not worth his time or effort, and he wishes to end his life on a positive note without wearing down his body since he will have to depart sooner or later anyways. Now when confronted with Mark’s decision, Dr. Jesse freezes and rationalizes with his beliefs to try and figure out the morally correct resolution to this problem. Like Mark, many other ill patients ask for life termination to relieve themselves from suffering and many other doctors, like Dr. Jesse, are also placed in this position where they must choose to either follow the patients’ requests, or to try an d keep the patient living despite their wishes. Who has the power to make this decision about ending a patient’s life, and to what extent? A terminally ill patient has the right to request the act of euthanasia as long as he or she is deemed as consciously aware. According to the online Princeton Wordnetweb dictionary, consciousness is â€Å"an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation†

The Copper Free Essays

Gavin cares about his Job. He sees the importance of the existence and enforcements of laws. Caring about a job and feeling important helps the employee perform better. We will write a custom essay sample on The Copper or any similar topic only for you Order Now He has also learned the techniques to distance himself from the Job and how to be efficient while on the clock (1. 71-80). Those cartel’s makes a good employee Ana a good cop. By long so Gavin Decodes ten right person for the Job. B. Children all around the world is raised differently. With the different cultures that exist, will there automatically occur different viewpoints on how to raise children proper. Some believe in non-violent negotiations and treating their children like young adults instead of kids. Others believe in the strength of corporal punishment and fear. I have never been laid a hand on by my parents. Together with their guidance I have figured out what I believe is right and wrong. I respect my parents, but not out of fear. My upraise and relationship with my parents would have been very different, if I had been raised with corporal punishment. I assume I would do what was expected of me, but without thinking for myself. Ata certain age parents can no longer control their children by corporal punishment. The children will not have learned considering responsibility for others than themselves. They have not matured in the same way, as if they had been forced to think like adults from the beginning. Besides the level of maturity, do I don’t believe in corporal punishment. I don’t understand parents, who need to smack their children to teach them a lesson. Why not reason with their children instead and make them see what’s right and wrong and avoid having a bad conscience (if you get such). In school I don’t believe n corporal punishment either, but in treating the students with respects or like young adults, if their age is more advanced. The school systems have an important job besides educating the children. They also have to discipline them. They teach how to interact in a society and to follow rules and norms. In the school, as like the rest of the world, a child is not irreplaceable, like it is to the parents. This makes it possible to teach the children things, that wouldn’t be possible inside the four walls at home. My way of thinking is classic Scandinavian. In other countries were corporal enmeshment is common, would complete different arguments come up. They would argument that children needs the discipline to get most out of school and that they haven’t yet age enough to be treated like adults. Until that point would they need a strict seed of rules. But in a fast moving society like today’s, criteria are constantly changing. Children are forced to take initiative, to grow up fast and get a sense of what kind of person they want to become. An upraise with corporal punishment is becoming out aged, and will not sooner or later no longer be able to keep up with the time. How to cite The Copper, Papers

Theme Assignment- Night free essay sample

Night Theme Assignment Holocaust survivors provide an opportunity for studying the lasting effects of massive suffering and extremely stressful experiences. Before the Second World War, the Germans made laws, which said that Jewish people are no longer welcomed in Germany. German people began to persecute them. When the Second World War started most of the Jews were brought to concentration camps all over Europe including Eliezer and his father. Everyone who was in one of these concentration camps will never forget their experience during the war. In the novel, Night, Elle Wiesel states the theme, that the victims of the Jewish holocaust are profoundly affected by their hellish experiences. Many quotations from different major characters extracted from the novel support the theme. â€Å"One day I was able to get up, I decided to look at myself in the mirror on the opposite wall. I had not yet seen myself since the ghetto†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 115) this quotation is a final statement about the effect the Holocaust has had on Eliezer. He implies that even though he has survived the war physically, he is essentially dead; his soul was killed by the suffering he witnessed and experienced. In this quote he indicates a fundamental separation between his sense of self and his identity as a Holocaust victim. His body-image reminds him of how much he suffered throughout the holocaust and how much of himself-his faith in God, his innocence, his faith in mankind, and his family. Eliezer survives and develops a sense of identity that will endure beyond the Holocaust. In assessing the impact of the Holocaust on survivors, it needs to be said that no person could have survived Hitlers concentration camps and emerged totally unchanged. Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed â€Å"(p. 34, 11-12) this is one of the first quotation which shows that Eliezer’s life change from the beginning of the camp. The quotation is taken after Eliezer is brought to the camps. In his head there are always these memories from the journey they had to make. He thinks about Mrs. Schachter who went crazy in the train because she had no water. He thinks about the smoke from the crematoria which scared him a lot. And he thinks about all his lost hope. Elizer doesn’t believe in god anymore beginning from this point. He thinks if someone like god would exist, he wouldn’t have to suffer in a concentration camp and he wouldn’t have to see all these pain. â€Å"That night, the soup tasted of corpses† (p. 65) this passage occurred after the pipel suffered, struggled between life and death, under Eliezer’s eyes, as he was obligated to watch a criminal act. Eliezers had seen worse, like the old man and the Polish boy who had done wrongs to deserve the punishments they received. The Polish boy stole during the bombing session and the old man ate soup from the cauldron. The pipel on the other hand did not really do anything wrong, but refused to talk and sacrificed his life. The death of the innocent child represents the death of Eliezer’s own innocence. Elizer was starting to lose faith in god in a world where an innocent child could be hung on the gallows and his entire emotional worldview transformed. The fact that the young boy remained alive and experienced death slowly made them cringe the most, which is why the soup tasted like corpses. Many psychological effects caused by the Holocaust forever changed the way the Jewish people view the world and themselves. â€Å"Many years later in Paris, I sat in the Metro, reading my newspaper. Across the aisle, a beautiful woman with dark hair, and dreamy eyes. I had seen those eyes before. † (p. 53, 21-23) this quotation occurs when Eliezer is working in a factory. One day, unprovoked, Idek, a German officer, savagely beats Eliezer, after which a French girl who works next to Eliezer in the warehouse offers some small kindness and comfort. She tells him to keep his anger for another day and advise him not to begin consider rebellion but to rely on faith. Eliezer sees after many years this one French girl again in Paris. He still remembers her look, especially her eyes. They talk about what happened in their past and in this one moment they shared. This quotation proves that pain goes by, but the horrible memories are still alive and can be affective in a person’s life. â€Å"Men to the left, women to the right† (p. 29) eight words spoken, indifferently, without emotion with painful life changing meanings. These ords separated Eliezer and his mother and sister forever, as well as countless other husbands and wives, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters on their arrival. The weak, old, and young people were basically worthless and had to be immediately executed by the SS officers. It emphasizes the cruel Nazi guards and the tragedies that were daily upon Jews in Auschwitz concentration camp. Millions of J ewish lives were profoundly affected by the Holocaust as a result. Being separated from your loved ones at such a young age is something that sticks with you your whole life and can make you cold as a person. Years later I witnessed a similar spectacle in Aden. Our ship’s passengers amused themselves by throwing coins to the â€Å"natives,† who dove to retrieve them† (p. 100, 18-20) in this quotation Elizer is after the Holocaust on a ship for holidays. When this ship passes natives the passengers starting to throw coins to them. Elizer sees how to young children are fighting in the water to grab these coins. Immediately his old memories are coming up when he is sitting in the train and people try to help by throwing bread into the wagons. But the people in there are starting to kill each other for bread. Deeply in Eliezer’s memories is one moment when a son kills his own father just to eat his bread. Elizer who felt this pain already once doesn’t want to happen it again, so he tells the passengers on the ship to stop it. All this proves that his experience and all the things that happened in concentration camps will never be forgotten by the prisoners â€Å"Jews, listen to me! That’s all I ask of you. No money. No pity. Just listen to me! † (p. 7) this passage occurs after Moshe returns and describes how the deportation trains were handed over to the German secret police at the Polish border. He escaped the concentration camp in order to warn Eliezer about the situation, but no one wanted to believe his story and people thought he was a lunatic. Moshe was a different person when he returned to his hometown; the joy inside of him was gone. His horror stories about deprivation, killing, and taking away everything you owned sounded so awful and unbelievable that his truth was dismissed. Moshe tried his best to warn the people from Sighet, but they ignored him and as a result everything that he was telling the citizens actually occurred again in 1944. This time he was clever enough to slip away before getting caught again. This quotation proves that Moshe’s previous hellish experience affected his chance of surviving. â€Å"I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name. † (p. 42, 23) The Nazis started in the camp to mark people. They did it so they wouldn’t have to learn the names of the prisoners and the Nazis could handle with numbers and letters to identify them. Every prisoner became his own number. This number is a symbol for how he was seen in Auschwitz, as a slave and not as a person. This tattoo will always stay on Eliezer’s body, and it constantly reminds him of the many bad memories and feelings at the camp. So the most terrible thing which will always remind Elizer of his ominous time at Auschwitz is his tattoo. Night mostly occurs when suffering is worst, and its presence reflects Eliezer’s belief that he lives in a world without God. In Night, Eliezer exploits this allusion and develops the theme that the victims of the Jewish holocaust are deeply affected by their hellish experiences. Wiesels experiences in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald are very well detailed in the story; his accounts of starvation and cruelty are shocking—an intense testimony to the penalties of evil. The Holocaust was perhaps the most evil single event ever performed by human beings. Today, he is a writer, professor, political activist, and a holocaust survivor. â€Å"No human race is superior, no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them† Eliezer Wiesel.